0verwritten
by Quilx
Summary: Year 2036 - Okabe Rintaro, a man who's been forced to suffer defeat over and over again, has finally reached the promised worldline. However, instead of the world of his dreams, he's met with a fragile status quo that can shatter at any moment. Can he do like his past self and keep the world going, or will it fall into a pit darker than World War 3? (Uses/spoils SciADV and S;G 0)
1. Chapter 1

_"Whether you like it or not, we're going to finish that time machine,"_ a voice called out to her. _"That damned Resistance isn't coming for you anytime soon, darling."_

She shook in her chains, trying to keep her eyes closed from the painful truth. She was destined to be here; as long as the Alpha worldline existed, SERN was always going to win whether she liked it or not. Mayuri got shot whether she liked it or not. Okabe... he was dead, whether she liked it or not. She cursed herself for being so careless with her research on the time machine back in Okabe's lab, if she was at least any more careful with how they conducted their experiments, she wouldn't be enslaved to work for SERN, Mayuri wouldn't have died on that fateful August day in the lab raid, they wouldn't have been captured by SERN and used to build a time machine, and Okabe wouldn't be dead because of his role in trying to bring the fight to SERN. She prayed, she hopelessly prayed that Daru was able to complete the time machine before SERN completed one, that he was able to send Suzuha back once more. She then felt something cold press against her forehead.

 _"Looks like the times have changed,"_ her captor just got off the radio with someone else. _"We no longer need to pick your brain for anything else. It's time we say goodbye now, dear."_

She heard the cocking of a pistol. She now understood what was going on. She had always wished for death, but she never expected that it'd be at the hands of her own captors. The gun fired, pain split her head, then darkness.

* * *

 ** _Date: November 13, 2036_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 ** _Time until Overwrite: ?_**

Kurisu awoke with a start, sweat dripping down her face and covering her back. Her breathing was ragged and shallow and it felt like she was suffocating in her own room. She quietly shifted out of the covers as to not wake the sleeping Okabe and shuffled her way to the roof of the building they were able to rent.

The California sky was clear tonight, but since there was so much light pollution to begin with, the stars weren't as clear, a luxury she had gotten used to in her time at Akihabara. Sure, downtown Akiba was always lit like a Christmas tree, but those back alleys away from the light, that's where the stars were able to shine and show their true beauty. She leaned on the railing overlooking the city and took a deep breath still trying to shake off her vivid nightmare. The roof reminded her a little bit of the top of the Future Gadget Lab back in Akihabara, maybe that was also the reason why Okabe would come up here each time he needed to calm down or each time he was up here just for the sake of being up here. Okabe explained to her what her dreams meant, that they were her memories from other worldlines, but her most recent ones have always been about her dying at the hands of SERN; as if there was no way she was going to survive in the Alpha worldline. He had told her about the convergence points in that worldline, that Mayuri dies in August of 2010, he forms the Resistance, and SERN controls the world, but she never believed him until she started having those dreams.

The 44-year-old let out a sigh, she knew she was getting too old to deal with fighting the good fight, but she knew that she had to stand alongside Okabe as a figurehead of the resistance against the evil that was out there in the world. She didn't know how Okabe was able to handle it all without even stressing about it, that's how strong he was. She remembered when in 2019, Okabe thought the incident in Tanegashima with those two robots had something to do with SERN so he had asked Daru to look into it. Ever since that year, time just hasn't seemed to slow down for any of the lab members. Faris had started a franchise with May Queen NyanNyan and had expanded worldwide being the first to succesfully implement maid cafes outside of Japan (she provided the funding for a lot of things), Mayuri and Luka were visiting third world nations trying to provide aide to those in need, Moeka had taken over the Braun-tube workshop and modernized it to provide the most recent technology at a lower price than her competitors because she believed everyone should have access to it nowadays, Daru worked as a network engineer for some unknown company, but his true job was as an anonymous hacker who lurked the Dark Web (he even managed to save the world from the Year 2038 Problem well before anyone started worrying about it), and then there was the doomed duo, Okabe and herself. The two moved to America to Dr. Leskinen's request because he thought Okabe showed a lot of promise and just the right amount of crazy since he had chosen to date her (Leskinen certainly got a berating after revealing the second reason why he took interest in Okabe). The two now worked with Maho in the Institute of Neuroscience now that Dr. Leskinen had chosen to retire and live somewhere away from Victor Chondria University. One could say that the three individuals represented all the different steps of the scientific method: Okabe represented curiosity and hypothesis, Maho represented experimentation, and Kurisu represented the analysis of the data that Maho brought forth. Together, the three were able to make many scientific breakthroughs, such as Amadeus and memory storage which even awarded Maho and Kurisu Nobel Prizes in Medicine of all things. Okabe didn't care for the prizes, he just did things in the name of science and often didn't care what others thought. The damned kid even plays as Hououin Kyouma whenever the mood strikes him and, while it's insanely cute of him to do it, it somtimes got in the way of her research with Maho.

But that wasn't all, with Okabe of course being a brain scientist wasn't enough for him. The two usually teamed up with Daru to find out if any progress in the time machine had been made by anyone, but ever since 2015, their search widened to a group known as the Committee of 300 which Okabe had christened as the Organization. They all knew they were playing with fire when they first discovered the Committee's involvement in trying to rule the world, and Okabe was hesitant on contuining to fight. It took a lot of convincing from Daru, but the hacker was able to get the mad scientist to fight, becoming the leader of Valkyrie in Daru's stead. Their mission always being to bring chaos to the Committee's plans

The cool November breeze interrupted her train of thought and she shivered a bit. She cursed herself for not brining a blanket or anything warm out with her, but she still chose to have her arms resting on the railing and continue taking in the city. Sure, she may get a cold, but she still needed to forget everything that happened on that other worldline. She closed her eyes and hunched her shoulders, the breeze was going to stop anytime soon. Except it didn't. Instead, she felt a blanket draped across her back by no one other than him.

"It would do us no good if my assistant were to catch a cold now would it?"

That smugness in his tone, with that underlying sense of caring. It annoyed her, but she always found comfort in it.

"We've been at this for 26 years now, Okarin," she responded without turning to him. "I'm _not_ your assistant and I never will be."

That man, even though he was 44-years-old going on 45, he was still such a child. He let out a chuckle and leaned on the railing with her in a blanket of his own. He had aged wonderfully, a couple gray hairs were present here and there, but his face didn't show too many signs of him being the age he is other than his ID. She looked at him and took in his features. This man was her husband, of all the fish in the sea that she possibly could have gone with, it just had to be this insufferable manchild who saved her life at the Radio Building. Something was wrong though, he hasn't talked ever since he came out, usually having conversations with him is like playing catch with a bomb, but it was oddly quiet and this silence wasn't peaceful. She looked over at him once more and saw a sad smile that said so many things at once and she couldn't quite understand it.

There was only one way to find out what was going on. "What's the matter, Okarin?"

She turned to him with a frown of confusion on her face and crossed her arms while leaning on the railguard.

He stood there looking out at the city. "He's coming soon."

That only served to confuse her even more. "Who's coming?"

"You had another nightmare about the Alpha worldline, didn't you?"

He just completely avoided the question, it frustrated her, but she didn't want to trigger anything for him. Hearing about how he had to endure experiencing Mayuri's death over and over meant that he was without a doubt still traumatized by the whole ordeal. She turned back to look at the city, horns blaring in the distance, sirens wailing, pedestrians still out on the streets. She never thought that downtown Los Angeles would be so lively so late at night.

"Yeah," she chose to respond to his question. "I died in this one too, shot without a chance to speak for myself."

She hated being blunt about what she had to go through in the Alpha worldline, it was almost desensitizing, but that was the only way she could express herself right now. She shivered, not from the cold, but from remembering the nightmare itself. Chained up like a dog whose opinion didn't matter; killed as soon as she had outlived her usefulness.

Did such a worldline really exist?

She looked back over at Okabe, he still had that sad smile on him. That smile hurt her, he was suffering from something and she didn't know what. Who did he mean when he said "He's coming soon."?

"Okarin, if I can help you, let me help you," she tried to not sound too forceful with him. "I'll always be there for you no matter what happens, you can always rely on me."

He let out a sigh and faced her for the first time since he came out to the roof, his sad smile replaced with a stern face.

"I don't think I have much time left here," he said. "It's up to you to guide him down the path we created."

"What do you mean?"

"I had a dream about another worldline myself," he explained. "This one didn't feel like the Alpha worldline though. I had one just like it 26 years ago, it was a barren wasteland and Mayuri and Suzuha were there. It looked like a tough ordeal, but I think he survived it. He'll be back, I feel it."

"Who are you referring to?"

She didn't need to ask, she knew the answer, but she wanted him to tell her that it was someone else that he possibly knew.

"The 'me' from the worldline where you died," he turned back to face the city and let his head bury deep into his arms. "He's going to overwrite me at some point and I'm not ready, I'm not ready to leave."

Okabe just sat there with his head buried in his arms and Kurisu didn't know what to do for the first time. He told her how his "Reading Steiner" worked and how he was the only person who could observe worldline shifts because memories from previous worldlines would overwrite his memories of the new worldline. She remembered he hit a massive depression in 2025 because he thought he'd get overwritten in that year, but he got through it just fine. His second doomsday was in 2036, but he seemed oddly optimistic about the whole thing. That was how it was before tonight happened. She wasn't ready to lose her husband, the man she had made so many memories with, the man who loved her unconditionally, the man she could always rely on.

Tears started welling up in Kurisu's eyes.

"Dummy Okarin," she sadly stated. "You'll always be here."

He looked at her as she pointed at her heart.

"And who knows, maybe you won't be overwritten," she tried remaining optimistic about it. "You never explicitly saw the 'you' in that worldline survive, right? Maybe your assumption was just wrong, humans _do_ tend to focus on the negative at times and maybe you're just giving into your base human instinct right now. Or maybe your temporal lobe is just being overactive and is making you remember memories that may not have even happened in other worl-"

She was interrupted by his embrace, he didn't exactly tower over her, but it felt like she'd drown in his being.

"You always try to find a scientific explanation to everything don't you?"

She freed head from his chest and looked up at him. "I'm a scientist, of course I'd look for a scientific explanation."

She saw him hesitate a little bit, even after being married for 13 years he didn't go out of his way to do anything romantic in fear he'd come off as perverted.

"Hey Okarin," she whispered to him. "Kiss me."

She stood on the tips of her toes and she caught Okabe's lips with hers. She had to give it to him, Rintaro Okabe was a good kisser, she usually felt complete whenever they kissed and it was all his fault that he was just so damn suave whenever he left the childish side of him behind.

Their lips separated and she resumed burying her head in his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head and just sat there with her. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer, the situation felt hopeless for some reason, as if the fact that Okabe dreamed it meant it was etched in stone. Her body started shaking again, she couldn't stop shaking, she was scared. How was she going to explain 26 years of Okabe's life to an Okabe that never lived it? The memories that they had made, she was going to be the only one that remembered them. Their failures, their successes, their time together, all of it would be erased as if none of it never happened for him. When was it going to happen? Tonight? The next day? The next week? The next month? She wanted to be prepared for it, but she knew that no amount of preparation would help her let go of her husband.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, Kurisu was finally able to get the shaking under control,but tears still flowed freely onto Okabe's nightshirt. Then she heard Okabe's breathing hitch and felt his body tense then relax, was he about to cry too? She hated seeing him sad, but she knew he couldn't help it.

"Kurisu?"

Strike one. There was no reason for him to call her by name right now.

"Kurisu, I just have one question," he silently asked, his tone shifting to a worried one. "Where's Mayuri?"

Strike two. She tried burying her head even further into his chest. She didn't just hear him ask that question. He knows exactly where Mayuri is right now, everyone does, everyone keeps tabs on each other nowadays. He's just playing a joke on her right, trying to get a rise out of her like he usually does?

"Oh god," he gasped still quiet. "Did I send us back? But wait, if we're back in Alpha then why..."

She didn't want to listen.

"Okarin!" she shouted at him. "You better be playing a joke, I swear I'll hate you forever if it is, but please, this is a joke right?!"

"Oka...rin?"

Strike three. The truth became apparent to her. Her husband is gone. Her Okarin has been overwritten.

* * *

 **A/N: Alrighty, I hope that was somewhat enjoyable for my first attempt at a Steins;Gate fanfiction. I tried staying as true as possible to the original creation and took a couple liberties with some aspects since they were never explained in canon (such as the location of Victor Chondria University). I plan to make more chapters of this every week so don't expect this to be the end. Yes, it may be a work in progress, but I'm not going to leave it unfinished like most other WIPs are. Feel free to critique this work, I did as much research as I could surrounding the SciADV universe so if I got anything wrong, feel free to rip me to shreds. Expect Chapter 2 next Tuesday, it'll be a fun ride, I guarantee it. -Quil**


	2. Chapter 2

**THIS CHAPTER IS UNDER RECONSTRUCTION.**

 **Due to the finale of the Steins;Gate 0 anime, this chapter no longer makes sense in canon and will be rewritten once the main story is done. If you were curious, this chapter was supposed to highlight how 0kabe was able to put himself into a position to overwrite the Steins Gate Okabe, but it was mostly using my own speculation well before 0's anime even began airing.**

 **Now that I know exactly what happened, this chapter has been retconned. There will be an update to it once the entire story is all edited.**

 **Sorry about that!**

 **Also, elements of this chapter will be present in others (11 years in a time machine), but don't take those at face value. A lot will be rewritten once 0verwritten is done, and I'll make sure to send out one last update to indicate that _all_ chapters have been updated.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Date: September 21, 2018**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 18 years, 1 month, 24 days.**_

"But I refuse!"

The 25 year old flipped his labcoat up and crossed his arms stubbornly facing away from their latest creation.

"What, why!?"

Kurisu was in shock, usually Okabe's the first to test out whatever new thing they came up with to confirm his hypothesis. What was so different about being the first to store his memories into a computer?! This is the first time anyone would be able to do so for crying out loud!

"Because I said so!"

He humphed and looked away from the memory converter. She couldn't help scoffing.

"Rintaro," she started calmly. "Either tell me a reason why you won't try out our creation or I will strap you into a chair and convert your memories into 1s and 0s myself. Maho said it was perfectly safe, hell, she even tried it out herself! It works!"

"I'm sorry what did I just hear?" he cupped his hand over his ear. "Please do say my name once again, Christina, you seem to have gotten a little confused."

"For the last time, there's no -tina at the end of my name!" she crossed her arms. "And why can't I just call you Rintaro instead of that childish name?!"

He finally looked at her with a soft smile.

"Because Dr. Leskinen still can't believe that we're in a relationship," he raised his arms in a way of saying "well what can ya do?". "Calling me an endearing name would certainly go a long way to convince him before he tries to set us up with other people don't you think?"

"Oh please," she scoffed once again. "I'd much rather call you Hououin Kyouma than _that_."

He chuckled, then laughed, then had his outburst of evil cackling. She just unwittingly wandered onto a landmine and it was all her fault for doing so.

"It seems like my assistant has finally seen the light and is calling me by the name that strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies!"

More evil cackling.

"One, I"m not your assistant," she put her fingers up to signal the number. "Two, I take back my statement, I'd much rather eat my own shoe than call you anything other than Rintaro."

The evil cackling died down and it eventually led to a sigh escaping his lips. She saw him eye the memory converter with contempt, a face that she'd never see him do at all in the 9 years that she's known him.

"Let's make an agreement," his tone had so suddenly changed it almost threw Kurisu for a loop. "You call me by the name we were supposed to agree upon, and I'll tell you why I can't be bothered by this invention."

They were the only ones occupying one of the many research rooms within Victor Chondria's Neuroscience Institute, this room only allowed clearance to Dr. Leskinen, Kurisu, Maho, and Okabe, but it was usually only Okabe and Kurisu in this room now that experimentation with it was done. They succesfully digitized Maho's memories into it for a start, of course she was kind of scared about a malfunction that would accidentally destroy her brain's neural network, but she went through with it once she was comforted by Kurisu to try it after her.

Now the university's restricted server had the memories of Kurisu (save for information of the time machine thesis that Okabe warned her to delete because of his suspicions behind the university) and Maho stored within it and it wouldn't be complete until the person who helped the two through the roadblock would do the same. Leskinen, Kurisu, and Maho were at a loss of what to do with their idea of the memory converter, sure Kurisu wrote a paper about digitizing memories, but it was one thing to write an unflawed theoretical paper on it and a totally different thing to actually apply it to the real world. She knew that without the ability to convert and store memories, the Amadeus project wouldn't be granted funding so the three did it on their own time and money. Then, almost as soon as Okabe found his way into her life, he basically solved the problem for the three. Okabe's guidance certainly surprised Leskinen and that was one of the reasons why he invited him to study and work at Victor Chondria once he finished his studies at Tokyo Denki. However, Okabe himself didn't participate in making the damned thing itself, he just talked like he knew exactly what was going on. Why wouldn't he want to put his memories into something that _he_ created? There was only one way to find out.

"Fine," she conceded. "But you have to go first."

She eyed him carefully, Okabe took on a look of sadness, a sadness that she hadn't seen since a panic attack he had several years prior. This must be related to that other worldline he mentioned.

"This machine," he carefully put his hand on top of it as if it were gonna snap at him. "This machine already tells half the story of the technology necessary to time travel. Every time I look at it, flashes of of all those worldlines, of Mayuri, of you, they just..."

His breathing got caught in his throat. Kurisu understood why he was the way he was now. She approached Okabe who was lost in his own personal nightmare with such a softness to her step that he didn't notice she was next to him until she put her hand over his. She placed his hand that was resting atop the memory converter on her heart and sat there with him for a moment.

"You don't have to force yourself anymore," she tried comforting him. "Whatever you had to go through, it's over, you saved both Mayuri and myself. You don't have to suffer for our sakes anymore."

He grimaced then looked away, tears seemed to be wanting to flow down his cheeks. She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, hugging him tightly so that he could understand that whatever he experienced is well behind them now. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and she could feel his shoulders shaking, he was still trying to hold back his tears.

"Just let go of it all," she whispered in his ear. "I'll always be here for you...Okarin."

* * *

"Kagari?"

Kurisu had never felt herself shift from sad to angry faster than she has at this very moment. First this man standing before her overwrites her husband and now he confuses her for Mayuri's 10 year old daughter?! She reached out and slapped him as hard as she could. Was he a pervert from the worldline that he came from? So many emotions were running and she was still seething.

"You're not _him_ ," she wanted to cry again. "You took _him_ away."

She knew she wasn't being rational at all with this version of Okabe that was before her. _Her_ Okabe told her all about how this man standing before her was the one that came up with the plan to save her; that she owes it to him and Mayuri that Okabe found the courage to try saving her once more. She stared at him as he rubbed his now red cheek with a sort of sad smile hanging on his face.

"I guess I deserved that, huh?"

He chuckled softly, but then quickly stopped.

"But Kurisu," he looked at her straight in the eyes again. "This is the Steins Gate worldline right? I didn't fail in guiding us here, right?"

She could sense the desperation in his voice, as if his whole life depended on the answer he was trying to get out of her.

She finally sighed and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "This is the promised worldline that he told me about, yes. The one where both Mayuri and I could live. The world that's uncontrolled by fate..."

Those were the exact words that he had told her when she asked him about his Attractor Field Theory. Just thinking about him made her want to break down again, as if he meant more than just the world to her. This man standing before her wasn't him anymore, she understood that now, but how could she just replace her husband with the Okabe that just overwrote him? She knew the best possible solution for her emotionally would have been to overwrite this man standing before her and bring back her husband with the memory storage unit, but Okabe never wanted to store his memories because of how much it reminded him of the Time Leap Machine that apparently _she_ had created in the Alpha worldline.

She looked down at the ground.

"I presume by 'he' you mean the Okabe Rintaro I overwrote, right?"

That man just stood there, as if he was offering some sort of pity to her because of what he had just done.

She peered over at him once more and his face shifted from someone who was worried to someone who was trying to be understanding. He seriously just came here from a worldline where she died and he was actually calm about it? Hell, even at this moment she'd go crazy just to reunite with her husband and he's only been gone for under 5 minutes.

Kurisu chose not to respond and looked down at the cold floor in agonizing sadness. Her rationality was in the gutter and she knew letting her emotions take control of the situation was among the worst things to do at this point, but she couldn't help it.

"Looks like the consequences of Reading Steiner goes both ways, huh?" he sighed and leaned over the railing that her husband was leaning over moments ago. "Listen, Kurisu. I may not be the man you knew for the past 26 years was it? I hope he still got to know you for 26 years at least. But he and I are one in the same if you think about it."

She clenched her fists. He could never be the same as the man who her husband was.

"I've jumped from worldline after worldline, seen things no man should ever see more than once. I've lived more lifetimes than I could have ever possibly asked for, but each experience has made me the person standing before you at this very moment. The Rintaro Okabe that saved you, he doesn't know half the story of what it took to finally be able to rescue you, the suffering that I had to experience over and over and over again just to be able to find the right worldline to send that encouragement he needed to try once more."

His calm tone made way to a more emotional one. Each word that left his mouth felt like they stung.

"I may not be that man you've known, but we still are one in the same. Him and I - no - I love you, there was no secret to that no matter what worldline we were on. I may just be one of the many Zeroes who dawdled on the Beta worldline where you passed away, but each and every one of us, me, were drawn by the same thing. My love for you was something I wasn't going to let go."

She looked up to see him looking back at her, his eyes were locked onto her.

"I've traveled to a world where I'd been tortured and left for dead, a world where World War III started well before 2000, a world where your memories rested within Mayuri's daughter, I've even traveled 70 million years into the past, but in each worldline it was apparent that I still loved you. I'm sure the version of me that stood before you moments ago loved you just as much as I did, possibly more, but that only serves to strengthen the idea that our minds, our ideas, they're spread through multiple different worlds to make up the person we are here and now. We may not seem the same way at face value, but deep down, we all hold the same thing true to ourselves, and this time, it was our love for you that kept us all bound together."

That theory, it sounded so familiar to her. Almost as if she said those exact words at some point in her life before, but she couldn't remember when.

"This was the theory you taught me on my last day on the Alpha worldline, your encouragement to keep me from turning away from saving Mayuri," he looked away from her as he said it, as if he regretted saying what he said. "I'm sure I probably explained it to you before though."

No, he hadn't. It's almost as if she learns something new about her husband each day and it surprised her. Okabe tended to keep his thoughts to himself until Kurisu pried them out of him and each revelation he made about that other worldline was enough to shock her each time.

"And I stand before you now, Makise Kurisu," he spread his arms out wide and looked back at her. "You, the reason why I found the courage to go searching for Steins Gate once more, are the person I've been searching for, for lifetimes on end I've been looking for you. I stand before you now, not as the man that saved you, but as the man who instructed himself to save you. To you, I may not be the same person, but I promise you, no matter what, deep down I am still that same man who was here not too long ago."

For the first time since her husband had been overwritten she could feel the tension roll off of her shoulders. She finally smiled softly and looked at him, not with anger, but with appreciation.

"It's Okabe Kurisu now."

It was almost as if nothing was able to shake this man up, he traveled from a worldline where she died to this one and he didn't break for one second. But hearing Kurisu utter the name of the family she had married into revealed the most shocked expression she could have seen.

"Huh?" he dropped his arms. "You mean...you and I...we...?"

The stoic man who had first arrived to the worldline devolved to a bumbling idiot.

"B-but," he continued tripping over his words. "What?!"

She couldn't help laughing at his reaction. "Yes, I chose to marry you, you idiot."

Okabe, at a loss for words chose to lean over the railing and just hang from it. Kurisu mustered up her courage and chose to approach the man once more and lean on the railing with him.

"We've been married for 13 years," she explained to him as she looked out into the city reminiscing on the past. "But it almost feels like you proposed to me yesterday."

She remembered that day, a day she would mark as one of the best days of her life.

"Hey Kurisu," she heard Okabe mumble. "How did I propose to you?"

She rested her chin on her hand and looked back into the past. July 28, 2022, the first day that they had met 12 years prior, it was really romantic now that she looks back on it.

"You asked me out on a date to a Japanese restaurant whose seats you reserved in Santa Monica," she clearly remembers it. "You were actually really anxious at asking me, something that was really out of character for even you. Of course, being curious at why you were so anxious to ask me, I accepted the offer and went on that date with you."

"Santa Monica...?" she heard him mutter under his breath. She just ignored him and continued on with the story.

"Our usual life wouldn't allow us to enjoy ourselves for even a second, but it was refreshing to be able to forget about our problems for that day and just find comfort in each other in a place outside our normal location. That restaurant was pretty fantastic, the chefs were cooking right in front of us and we both just were salivating over the food. At least, I was. Each time I looked over at you it looked like you were just shaking uncontrollably and you could barely hold a conversation with me for longer than a couple sentences."

She let out a small laugh, seeing Okabe act the way he did brought joy to her. Never had she seen the self-proclaimed mad scientist be so awkward around her once they decided to try out the whole dating thing.

"I mean, of course I got pretty upset since you were taking me out on a date, but you were offering very little companionship to show for it. I guess I kinda have to admit, I almost walked out on you that day, but the food was just too good to pass up. Then, out of nowhere, Hououin Kyouma made an appearance, as if you finally had the balls to do something about that disaster date. That's when I got entertained and we started doing the usual bickering like we did back at Akihabara, I was finally having fun because you finally decided to man up."

The nostalgia was killing her, but she wanted to finish her story.

"Then, when it was all said and done, we were getting ready to eat dessert and you suddenly shrieked as if something bit you. You stood up from your seat and called the waiter over because you apparently had something in your Dr. Pepper that seemed unhealthy so you sent her off to get you another one; it almost looked like you were going to complain to the manager for it. I tried calming you down and getting you to sit, but you wouldn't budge and it felt like you just drew in way too many stares for me to not feel embarrassed about anything."

Second-hand embarrassment was kicking in. No matter how great that day was for her, she could never get over what it felt like to have all those people staring at her.

"Then, the waitress came out with just a box that she handed to you as if you knew what you were going to do with it. We finished our dessert then you asked for my hand and pulled me up from my seat saying that you already paid and that it was time to go back to our usual lives. Needless to say, I was kinda sad because it felt like it all ended too soon and I just wasn't ready to go back. But then you just stopped in the middle of our walking out, amidst all the tables, turned to me and got down on one knee."

It was then that she knew what the box was for and she was genuinely surprised at how well Okabe was handling everything up to that point in the date.

"You opened the box and said, 'I may have many names for you: Christina, Assistant, Zombie, Pervy Genius Girl, even using My Darling at times, but there's one thing that I'm yet to call you and I need your help establishing that name for me. Kurisu, will you be my wife?' Looking back on it, your proposal _did_ sound pretty corny, but it was enough to make me the happiest girl on the planet that day."

A single tear made its way down her cheek and onto the streets below them.

"We got married about 8 months later in Tokyo, our lives didn't calm down until that point and it was finally nice to get that out of the way. It felt nice to finally be a part of a whole family again, your mom, dad, and especially you were more than anything I could have ever wished for. Now, 13 years later, I have no regrets about that day or any day following it. No matter what, I knew you were the only one that was going to make me as happy as you did, so I just went for it."

She looked over at Okabe who was peering out at the city with a somber look on his face.

"Sounds like I did a really good job with that proposal," he said. "I'm sorry I don't remember any of it, Kurisu, words can't describe the pain I feel for you. The feeling that you remember something that others don't, it's enough to drive anyone insane."

She finally did what she would have considered unthinkable 5 minutes before. She snuggled under Okabe's left arm and just sat there leaning into him.

"You may not have the memories that we forged together," she whispered next to his chest. "But I now have reason to think that you're still the Okarin I fell in love with all those years ago."

He shuddered when she finished the sentence.

"Hearing you say that nickname," he shivered. "It's really weird hearing it come out of your mouth."

She couldn't stifle a small laugh.

"You can blame yourself for that one," she told him. "You're the one that wanted me to start using it to begin with."

They sat there like that for what felt like an eternity, Okabe with his left arm around Kurisu's shoulders as she leaned into his chest. She wanted it to be like that forever, hoping that maybe, her memories will somehow find their way into his heart, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Kurisu," Okabe said out of nowhere, did he remember? "I'm feeling kinda tired right now."

"Yeah," she responded feeling somewhat disappointed. "I'm ready to fall back to sleep now."

"If I may ask, what woke you up in the first place?"

The Alpha worldline, going through everything that just happened to Okabe right now made her forget about the dream, but it was back at the forefront of her mind.

"Nothing important," she lied. "Let's go back inside, it's pretty cold."

"Even now you choose to lie to spare my feelings, huh?"

He saw right through her, this man was exactly like her husband. No matter how well she masked her lies, Okabe was always able to sniff them out. She looked up at him from within his arms as he looked down at her. Perhaps...perhaps this man could pick up where her husband left off. There was only one last thing she needed to check.

"I'll explain everything tomorrow morning," she said. "For now..."

She pulled Okabe down by the collar and locked her lips to his. He got over the initial surprise and returned the favor to her. Yep, Rintaro Okabe was still a great kisser even in the worldline he was from. Her husband was still here with her, he just can't remember. This was still her Okarin, she believed that now.

They separated and she still felt fulfilled like she had when she usually kisses her husband.

"Still acting like a tsundere from some fanfic, huh?"

His quiet chuckling led to a loud yelp as she stomped on his foot for the remark.

"Now just who are you saying belongs to a fanfic, idiot," she snarled at him but then she realized the mistake she made. "I mean... I don't even know what that means, I could only assume it was an insult based on your tone, is that something you picked up on the Beta worldline?"

She hoped that this Okabe was dense. Didn't want him finding out that she memed the 2channel boards when she had the freetime away from him and the university.

"Nurupo."

"Gah," she quickly responded and then she realized that she had been caught in a trap set by him. "Wait, I didn't mean that."

"I still know of your exploits on 2channel," Okabe laughed then continued his revelation. "'KuriGohan and Kamehameha', you still go by that username, correct?"

She could feel her face flush. She was only capable of pushing him away and pointing angrily at him.

"Don't say that name so loud, idiot! I have a reputation to uphold!"

He yawned. "Who cares about reputation nowadays, it's 2036 for crying out loud."

A flash of her husband just appeared right before her eyes. No matter what he did or what he remembered, this man was still capable of feeling the same way her husband had always felt. He never cared about how he was perceived, he just cared for performing science and preserving the worldline.

"You're still tired aren't you?"

Okabe mindlessly nodded, it seems like he really _was_ absolutely out of it right now.

"Let's get you to bed then, shall we?"

She grabbed him by the hand and led him back down the stairwell into their little piece of heaven. The place wasn't as big as a house, but it surely wasn't as small as the lab or her hotel room back in Akihabara. Kurisu guided him through the living room and into their bedroom.

"Here's where we sleep," she explained to him. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I have to use the restroom really quick, it doesn't matter if you fall asleep before I come back."

It was another lie. He slightly nodded and proceeded to get under the covers of the bed, looks like he didn't have the energy to challenge her. She softly walked into the bathroom and just sat there for a bit. The bathroom was connected to their bedroom and it was next to the entrance to the room itself. She waited for about 10 minutes just lost in thought and waiting for Okabe to fall asleep, she was sure that if she showed up in bed with him he'd have trouble being able to close his eyes.

When she got out of the bathroom she saw Okabe lit by the soft moonlight piercing their curtains, his tired face apparent now more than ever. He must have gone through absolute hell to get here if he looked like that at 44 years old. His chest moved up and down in a soothed rhythmic pattern, his breathing quiet, his mouth open. She swore that if she didn't go through what she went through moments ago then she wouldn't have been able to tell if her husband had actually been overwritten, everything that this Okabe did was exactly the same.

She finally walked from her spot by the bathroom and climbed into bed with him. Maybe she can find her Okarin in this man again, he had everything but the memories nailed to a tee after all. She snuggled close to him and let herself fall asleep in his warmth.

 _Yeah,_ she thought as she drifted to sleep. _Okarin's not gone, he's here, he just doesn't know it._

* * *

 **A/N: And now the introductions have been properly set. I'm going to start taking a lot more freedom from the SciADV universe in the remaining chapters considering I don't and can't know everything about the universe as a whole (looking at you Chaos; series). Chapter 4 is in the works, but it may take a little longer to come out since there's so much I want to do at once and I really don't want to sacrifice pacing to fit everything in at once. You'll get the notification anyway. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, if you want to write reviews about this you can, I'm always open to learning about what people think about the writing.**

 **~Quil**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Steins;Gate is owned by 5pb and Chiyomaru Studios.**

* * *

 ** _Date: November 14, 2036_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 ** _Time until Overwrite: ERROR - NEGATIVE VALUE - CANNOT COMPUTE_**

Okabe didn't dream that night, the first time he hadn't ever since World War III started on the Beta worldline.

He felt the sun hitting his face as it poked through the curtains and he groggily opened his eyes. He was about to rub his eyes with his arms, but he noticed that something was keeping his right arm from moving. He looked over to his right and realized that Kurisu had pinned his arm down with her head.

Wait. Kurisu. Him. Same bed. She's insanely close. Last night actually happened? He thought he was hallucinating from spending so much time in that cramped time machine that he thought this worldline was an insanely realistic hallucination that his mind had thought up. But Kurisu was actually here with him in the worldline that he tried so hard to bring for everyone.

The faint lemony scent could be smelled from her lips as she exhaled softly into his chest. Okabe was used to being tightly squeezed in a small space with a couple girls so they couldn't help being almost on top of them, but the fact that this wasn't forced made this completely alien to him. He couldn't help but feel the heat rise to his face, he was in his 40s yet he felt so juvenile thinking this way.

"K-Kurisu," he whispered in a slightly panicked tone. "What are you doing?"

Kurisu shifted in her sleep, but stayed practically ontop of Okabe.

Okabe then remembered everything that happened the night before. In this worldline, he actually married Kurisu so this kind of behavior should have been expected out of a married couple. Even with knowing this, Okabe still felt awkward, he hasn't talked to Kurisu ever since his last interaction with Amadeus almost three decades ago, but that still wasn't the Kurisu that was with him now.

He slightly shook his head and looked at the ceiling to clear his thoughts. This wasn't the time to feel awkward about anything, the fact that he was here now and the fact that everyone he cares about is still alive means that he succeeded in bringing the promised worldline, it meant everything to him. But he can't fail to recognize that he's the stranger once more, that he stole the spot of the man who took action to bring about the change to the Steins Gate worldline. He knew there was no way to make up those lost memories, Reading Steiner just wouldn't allow it, but he just hoped he could remember for her sake.

Even though she may have opened up to him once he explained himself to her, he knew she was still hurt. He wanted to take that pain away, but he didn't know how. He's lived in pain for the past 3 decades, and he knew that he never wanted anyone to go through any sort of discomfort as long as he was there to help out.

Okabe looked over at Kurisu once more who still pinned his arm to the bed.

In the middle of Kurisu's shuffling, a stray strand of hair had fallen across her face, Okabe chose to make the move to put it back in its rightful place. Unluckily for him, Kurisu's nose was particularly sensitive in the mornings and as soon as the hair had skimmed across the tip, she sneezed all over him waking her up in the process.

"That's just gross," Okabe said as he wiped away the snot and spit from his nightshirt with his free arm. "Do cover your mouth when you sneeze if you please."

That one moment, it was enough to knock Okabe out of his train of thought and into his usual self.

"I don't recall ever giving you permission to touch me," Kurisu said as she literally still pinned his arm down as she looked at him.

Looks like she woke up with perfect memory of what happened the night before.

"You say that as you're practically all over me," Okabe had to point out to her. "And plus, that strand of hair really bothered me."

Kurisu paused for a second, looked down at where she was laying and looked back up at Okabe's face.

She scooted away quicker than he thought she was capable of, for the first time since he woke up his arm was free.

"Force of habit," she mumbled. "I don't know what you expect out of me considering you're supposed to be my husband."

Okabe let out a small sigh. "You don't have to change anything, Kurisu. I promise I'll get used to this just give me some more time."

She didn't seem to be listening to him and promptly rose out of bed. "I'll make us breakfast."

Okabe could only watch as Kurisu quickly strode out of the room, her face being a hard read, but he knew she was still upset about what had happened to him. He stretched out his right arm, feeling the blood flow back into his hand in an almost tingly sensation.

For the first time he was able to get a good look at the room. It was actually really weirdly planned now that he looked at it, not what you'd usually expect. The bed sat at the wall parallel to the door, the wall to the right of the bed held the window which allowed a crazy amount of sunlight in even though the curtains were covering up outside. There were two nightstands, probably one for Okabe and his stuff and one for Kurisu's things, the room also seemed to be painted in a silly way. The walls on side that had Kurisu's half of the bed was painted in red while Okabe's half was painted in an almost dull gray. Seemed like there were issues on what to paint the room so concessions were highly suspected to have been involved. On the wall that the door occupied sat a small flatscreen TV, it just hung there supported by two small beams portruding from the wall itself and faced slightly downward.

Okabe's gaze shifted to Kurisu's nightstand once more. He didn't notice them the first time because it was a quick glance, but he saw glasses sitting there on the edge. Then it got him slightly worried, she stormed out of the room without her glasses and now she planned to cook for him? This shocking observation was enough to get him out of the bed in an instant and run out of the room with her glasses in hand. He knew that whatever ingredients Kurisu touched, it wouldn't bode well for him, thousands of jumps in the Alpha worldline taught him that.

He sprinted down the hallway and burst into the kitchen to try and stop Kurisu, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw her stooped over the stove with her shoulders shaking. A good smell emanated from the stove that Kurisu inhabited, but Okabe didn't care about the state of his breakfast anymore, seeing Kurisu the way she was right now hurt him more than he thought.

What was he supposed to do?

* * *

Kurisu had never felt more stupid in her life. "Okarin's not gone"? She swore she was so naive. She was way too accepting of the Okabe that was with her now. Why couldn't the previous night have been a dream, why did she kiss him? Why did she allow herself to treat him the way she did her husband when this man doesn't even remember their wedding?

Stupid, she felt so stupid. She wanted to go on as if it was no big deal, to serve him breakfast with a smile on her face and to tell him that it was okay. But it wasn't okay, he wasn't the man that she had made all those memories with. This wasn't the man that closed the distance between them by moving to America to work at Victor Chondria with her. This wasn't the man that founded the Resistance against the Committee of 300 and was responsible for saving so many lives. This wasn't the man that had proposed to her 13 years ago. This wasn't the man that saved her 5 years ago. So why did she treat him like he was the same person the night before!? She was so stupid.

A single tear flowed down her cheek and fell onto the pan that held the omelette she had prepared for Okabe, it instantly boiled away as soon as it touched the hot metal. Why couldn't it all be a dream? She bet that Okabe was still laying in bed, with that stupid emptiness that sat in his head, and that stupid ignorance of his that wouldn't allow him to understand that he had basically killed her husband. She swore she hated him now more than the night before when he had first arrived. Him and his silver tongue, they were all just words meant to woo her. He probably never meant any of them, he comes from a worldline where he let her die after all.

Kurisu didn't care if she was being emotional over rational anymore, it was her right to be. No one should ever have to go through an experience like that so what did she have to do to deserve this.

Crap, if she didn't do anything the omelette was going to burn. She grabbed the spatula to take it out, but she just couldn't stop shaking. She just gripped the spatula tightly, unmoving. All she could do was shake, tears flowing freely down her face, she just wanted it all to end.

Kurisu then felt a familiar warmth grab the hand that held the spatula. She felt this warmth guide her hand over the pan, get the omelette and place it on the plate she had prepared. She turned to see the same long-haired man she saw every morning, but he had a different aura to him. More tears flowed freely down her face as he grabbed her and held her close to him.

* * *

This was the best idea Okabe could think of, but he wasn't sure if it was enough. He held Kurisu to his chest as she sobbed freely into his nightshirt almost reminiscent to the way Mayuri had when they were able to return safely to 2036.

"I hate you," she sobbed into his chest. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you..."

She kept saying it over and over, but it was okay. Okabe didn't know who he replaced, but he knew that Kurisu was suffering because of it.

He just gently rocked with her, whispering the tune he had heard long ago in one of the Beta worldlines. The tune to make someone smile when they were sad. He remembered it clearly.

 **(A/N: This is the song from the Recursive Mother Goose ED in Steins;Gate 0. It sounds beautiful in Japanese, but for the sake of understanding it's in English)**

"I'm searching only for one thing," he started singing, "the laughing voice of the star I love, her light flickering in the wind, if I just reach out I can get through to her."

It was a simple tune that he had memorized (and slightly altered for the situation), he couldn't help it since everyone around him was busy singing it all the time. He sat there singing it anyway, in hopes that he could calm Kurisu down.

Kurisu's sobbing slowed down and her shaking was less intense, she even stopped with the whole "I hate you" thing, but he kept singing anyway.

"If you close your eyes you will definitely find it," he continued. "The light that will guide you when you are lost, if you listen close you can definitely hear it, the song that plays for you in your sleep."

He chose to end it there, and rock with her. Her sobbing was getting more and more under control, but he could still feel her shaking in her arms.

"Why are you still here?" he could hear her voice muffled against his chest. "Why can't you just give me my husband back?"

"You seem to be forgetting what we talked about last night my precious assistant," he swore he was going to mess things up worse if he played as Hououin Kyouma but he didn't know what else to do. "I-"

She freed herself from his grasp and yelled while pointing an accusatory finger at him. "No, I can't forget last night! I wish last night never happened! I wish you would have died so that my Okarin could live!"

Okabe was no stranger to outbursts, but it still hurt to be the reason for anger and sadness. He just stood there and let her have her way, it was only right.

"Why are you smiling!?" she called him out. "Do you take that much pleasure in making other people suffer!? Why do you want to make me suffer!? I thought you said you loved me, or was that a lie just so that you could have your way with me!?"

She could question a lot of things, but his love for her was unquestionable.

"Christina!" he interrupted her. "That's no way an assistant should address their boss now is it?!"

He swore he was going to make things worse. He took a quick glance around the room to catch his bearings and found what he wanted.

"I'm not your assistant you bastard!" she yelled back. "You-"

"Alright then," he cut in. "Would you do me a favor and tell me the time please?"

"You can do that yourself, the clock is right there!"

She pointed at the digital clock in the living room that he had eyed previously.

"Do tell me the time, Christina," he went on. "And don't even think about moving from your spot when you do."

She humphed and unconsciously brought her hand up to her face, as if she were trying to adjust something then she realized that her face had nothing on it. She squinted in the direction of the clock, but not a word came out of her mouth. That was enough for Okabe and he took the glasses he had placed in his pocket out.

"You forgot these when you stormed out of our room," he smiled slyly. "What kind of mad scientist would I be if I didn't tend to my assistant's clumsiness?"

He held his palm out and watched as Kurisu tried snatch her glasses out of his hand with a quickness he expected. He closed his hand quicker than she could reach them and held them behind his back. He swore she was about to punch him, but he tried to get a few words in.

"Believe me, Kurisu," he wanted to admit to her now. "I know I was selfish to come to this worldline when I had previously given up all hope for it."

She paused and looked at him, still tear-stricken.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know what I expected when I came to this worldline. I worked so hard on trying to escape the Beta Attractor Field that I never considered the consequences for jumping into this worldline that we're in now. That's just how short-sighted I am, I suppose."

She clenched her fist and raised it at him as if she were going to hit him, but he kept going.

"But I never would have thought that my love for you would come into question," she stopped in her tracks. "Kurisu, I don't know how many other ways I can put this, I love you. Alpha, Beta, Steins Gate, I love you no matter the worldline and I always will, one could say it's the choice of fate, but I say that my love for you was _my_ choice to begin with."

She stopped, just before she was about to swing at him. Her face of pure anger changed to one of mixed emotions.

"Stop," she whispered. "Stop trying to be him. You can't be him."

"It's pretty hard to not be myself you know," he chuckled in response.

She didn't laugh with him, she just stood there shaking uncontrollably once more.

"Here," he held out the glasses once more. "It's only fair that you have a clear view of me."

Kurisu hesitantly reached out for her glasses once more, this time Okabe didn't play keep-away. He didn't expect her to walk into him and ignore the glasses though. She rammed into him, held his collar in her hands and broke down into his chest, immediately letting go of his shirt.

"Why!?" she sobbed loudly into this chest, but that was all she said.

It was obvious she was struggling internally. He was sure he accidentally reminded her of the version of himself that he had overwritten, but he couldn't help it. He was just being himself.

"So, when did you get good at cooking?" he asked trying to liven up the mood. "I expected some sort of monstrosity, but that omelette sure does look delicious."

She stopped shaking and sobbing at once.

"Oh right," she stated plainly. "Your breakfast is ready."

She didn't even fight him. Looked like he pushed the wrong button this time.

Okabe let go of her and gave her the glasses. "Go straighten yourself out in the bathroom, I'll make your breakfast."

Recognition flashed across Kurisu's face once more and she almost broke down into tears again, but she nodded. She grasped the glasses firmly and strode back down the hall to reach the bathroom and closed the door.

Okabe faced the stove and went to work.

* * *

Kurisu sat in the bathroom facing herself in the sink mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had just gone through.

She surprised herself with that outburst she just had a moment ago. She never thought she was capable of it, but it must have been her love for her Okarin that caused it. She took a deep breath.

That man offered to make her breakfast, a tradition that was set up between herself and her husband ever since they got married. She'd make his breakfast and he returned the favor, there was no way that man was able to figure it out without even a hint. What was his problem?

Better yet, what was her problem?

Not a minute ago she swore she hated that man who stood in the kitchen, but now whenever she thinks back on him she can't feel the same as she did. She said so many terrible things to him, but he never wavered and stuck with her. Was he actually telling the truth?

She swore she wanted to punch, kick, bite, do anything to hurt him so that he could feel her pain physically, but now she just wanted him to hold her. She shouldn't have said all those mean things to him, but she did anyway. She was sure that under those coated words of "love" he probably hated her guts, he just didn't want to make her feel bad. She could tell in his voice when he made a jab at her cooking, he must have really wanted to insult her and that was the best he could do. She deserved the hate anyway, she was the one that decided to open up her mouth.

Kurisu wiped the remaining tears off her face, put on her glasses, and took another deep breath. She was going to apologize to him. That's what she decided.

She opened the door and strode back out into the hallway.

* * *

Okabe seriously messed up. He just wanted to kick himself for volunteering to make Kurisu's breakfast. Breakfast should have been an easy thing to do compared to his research, but he was so busy on time machine research on the Beta worldline that he never paused to learn any cooking tips.

Now, what was before him was a sickly sight. Burnt eggs and cheese were stuck to the pan looking nothing like the neat omelette that Kurisu had made for him.

He heard the bathroom door open and close. _Crap._

He grabbed the spatula and tossed the burnt excuse for an omelette onto a plate and grabbed the other one before Kurisu could come back. He promptly ran to the dining room with the two plates in hand, placed them on the table and grabbed the utensils from their respective drawers.

He sat down at the table and was about to shovel his burnt omelette into his mouth to not make Kurisu suspicious until the woman in question appeared at the door.

"Not even an 'itadakimasu'?" she looked dissapointedly at him. "Didn't think you'd be so rude."

She found her seat at the table and eyed the omelette she had cooked.

"Hey, Oka-"

"I'm sorry!" he couldn't contain it as he stood up and bowed deeply. "I don't know how to cook and I burnt the omelette I was supposed to make you, so just have yours! I can eat the burnt one!"

She looked at him then back down at the omelette. She laughed.

"I knew it looked similar to the one I made," she said. "I probably wouldn't have noticed until you pointed it out though."

Okabe straightened up. What did she mean she wouldn't have noticed? Wasn't she just about to ask him about it?

"Anyway, you shouldn't be the one apologizing," she interrupted his train of thought. "It was wrong of me to say all those mean things to you earlier. I'm sorry... Okarin... I'm sure you probably hate me now."

That last bit was surely surprising to hear. How could she assume that?

"Don't apologize," he put his hands to his hips. "And plus, I could never hate my assistant."

"I'm not your-"

"I could never hate the woman I chose to devote my life to."

Her eyes told the whole story. She looked at him in a mix of shock and happiness. He swore she was about to cry again.

"Now," he said. "Stop acting like a 12 year old who cries at anything and let's eat."

She closed her mouth and any sort of happiness was removed from her face. Looks like he chose to push the wrong buttons again. Damn World War III and its lack of social interaction.

"I'm joking," he sighed. "You still miss him, don't you? It's not right of me to ask you to stop crying."

"No," she replied. "It's okay. I shouldn't be crying."

She said it like she didn't mean it. As if she only said it to please him or something.

"Do you honestly think you're telling me what I want to hear?" he told her. "Is this what _he_ made you do each time you got into an argument?"

"No-"

"Then why do you insist on conceding to me only to take it back!?" he slammed his fist into the table and stood up. "How many times do I have to drill it into you that he and I are the same person!? How many times are you going to get angry at me!? How many times do I have to prove myself to you!? Huh!? Please do tell me so that I know how long I have to go through this!"

Kurisu's breathing caught, but Okabe didn't let up.

"You insist that I can't be him! You insist that I killed him! But here I am standing right before you, Kurisu! I'm _him_!"

Okabe felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"You insist that I wanted to make you suffer! Do you realize how much it hurts!? I've suffered countless times jumping through countless worldlines where the people I loved died! Nightmares of the Alpha worldline and the day I killed you haunt me to this day and I've suffered because of it! Do you honestly think that I'd want to pass that on to someone else!? Do you honestly believe that I'm willing to do something like that!?"

A tear rolled down Kurisu's cheek as she tried opening her mouth, but Okabe didn't let her speak.

"I don't know what you want from me," he looked down in despair as a tear made its way down his face. "Had I known this was going to happen I would have killed myself in that time machine with Suzuha and Mayuri. If I knew you were going to suffer because of my will to live I would have just ended it 11 years ago."

"Don't say that!" Kurisu screamed forcing him to look back up.

She was covering her mouth with her hands as she started sobbing uncontrollably. Okabe then realized that he went too far.

"Oh my god, Kurisu," he put his hand up in an attempt to reach out to her. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..."

He didn't know what else to say. He just lost it, plain and simple and there was no way to justify himself.

"Kurisu..."

His hand was about to reach her before she cowered away. Now she seemed infinitely farther away than before.

"I know I've been nothing but cruel to you ever since you jumped into this worldline," she softly spoke. "I recognize that now. Please don't hurt me."

That was enough to break even him, the mad scientist from World War III. He chuckled, then laughed, but it stopped there. He crumpled to the floor and leaned on the wall next to him.

"Hurt you?" he laughed. "You think I'd hurt you. Now that's insanity at its finest."

He looked over at her, flashes of the day she died went through his head. Even though it was almost 30 years later, he still remembered killing Kurisu vividly.

"Hurt you..." he whispered. "I've hurt you before...I've hurt you the worst of anyone that knows me..."

He looked back down at the floor and grasped his head trying to make the memories stop.

"I killed you. I stabbed you and left you to die. I wonder how this version of me did it. Did he do the exact same thing?"

He was rocking back and forth into the wall. The memories were about to overtake him, he started hyperventilating.

"This isn't real, I didn't do anything to deserve you. This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real..."

* * *

Kurisu watched as Okabe kept muttering to himself. She was to blame for this, she triggered his panic attack like she always does. She had to mess everything up, everything would have been fine if she just stayed true to her own word and accepted this man as her forgetful Okarin. She had no right to cry because of the words he had said to her, she deserved them. She had no right to assume that he was going to slap her, Okarin wouldn't do that. She just had to open her damned mouth.

"Okarin!" she called out to him to no avail. He still rocked back and forth, hyperventilating and muttering the same thing over and over again.

She realized he needed his medication so she ran into the bedroom, leaving the rocking Okabe in the dining room alone.

Kurisu looked through every drawer she could find on Okabe's side of the room, but she couldn't find any of his medication. She ran into the bathroom and looked through the medicine cabinet in hopes that he kept it out in public view, but they were nowhere to be found there either.

She ran back into the bedroom and started tossing things out of place looking for any sign of his anxiety pills. She looked under the bed, tossed up the covers, and then she finally threw his pillow on the ground.

She found them. They sat underneath his pillow next to an envelope with his name on it. She ignored the envelope and took the pills with her.

When she got back out she realized the Okabe had found his way back into the kitchen. She ran to the entrance only to see him brandishing a knife, but he had the blade pointed at himself. She watched from behind him as he raised the kitchen knife high into the air and pointed it straight at his body.

"Just make it stop!"

"Okarin, no!"

She never thought she'd be able to move so fast at her age. She felt like she flew from her spot right into Okabe. She grabbed his arm and felt him struggle to bring the blade back down.

"Let. Me. Go!"

He tried shaking her off, but she wouldn't budge. She went a step further and grabbed the knife by the blade while kneeing Okabe in the ribs. She didn't know how to fight, but her self-defense classes taught her enough to know where to hit someone.

Okabe let go of the knife and held his ribs in pain. He knelt to the floor as he tried catching his breath. Kurisu quickly switched the knife out of the hand that was bleeding and into her dominant hand. She then threw it as best she could out the kitchen. Okabe watched the knife fly out of the kitchen and into the dining room that they had just inhabited. Kurisu opened the bottle of pills and placed one in her mouth, she knew he wasn't going to be willing to think rationally right now so she would have to appeal to his basest desires in order to get him to take his medicine.

Okabe tried getting up to make a run for the knife, but Kurisu caught him before he could and tackled him to the floor. She positioned herself to get ontop of him while he struggled underneath her.

"Get off of me!"

She remained unmoving and instead locked her lips to his. The action completely stopped his moving for a second, but she knew he wasn't going to remain frozen for long. She tried forcing the pill out of her mouth and into his, but she struggled trying to get his lips to part. She finally broke through with her tongue and planted the pill between his lips and clenched teeth. The pill dissolved quickly so he was either going to swallow the capsule or swallow the actual medicine itself, but she wouldn't let him go. He tried throwing her off of him, but she kept herself locked to him, she wanted to see her Okarin calm again.

Kurisu then felt pressure being placed on her lips. Okabe was trying to return the pill to her, but she steeled herself and tried her best to keep her mouth shut and applied more force into the kiss. She wasn't going to lose him now that she realized what she'd done to him.

..

Kurisu didn't know how long she stayed ontop of Okabe while he struggled under her. He was surely stronger than her in all senses of the word, but she did her best to keep his arms pinned down and remain ontop of him as he tried to roll her off.

Okabe stopped struggling. Kurisu opened her eyes after keeping them shut in intense focus for so long and she saw his eyes for the first time since he first had his attack. She saw him focusing his eyes once more, the trait that meant the medicine had done its job. She finally rolled off of him and sat beside the kitchen sink, she could still feel the warm blood flowing out of the hand she had used to grab the knife blade, but she didn't care. She was able to bring back her Okarin.

* * *

Okabe laid there looking at the ceiling of the room he was in. One second he was yelling at Kurisu and the next she was ontop of him with her lips against his. What happened in the time between then? Had he really fazed out?

He sat up and leaned against the oven facing Kurisu who looked like she went through absolute hell for some reason. His gaze shifted down to her left hand and his breathing got caught in his throat.

"Kurisu," he was able to work out of his throat. "Your hand, did I do that?"

She clenched her bloodied hand and smiled at him. "Welcome back, Okarin."

"What happened?"

She didn't answer him the first time, but why?

"Nothing too bad, I just had a small little accident."

"Bullshit."

He knew exactly when she lied and this was one of those times.

"Did I try to hurt you?"

"No," he could tell she was telling the truth. "You were trying to hurt yourself, but I stopped you."

Vague memories of what happened made their way into his head. First he was rocking back and forth in a really pathetic way and then he remembered he tried stabbing himself. But Kurisu stopped him just before he brought the knife down on himself.

Okabe promptly got up.

"Where do we keep the bandages?" he asked her feeling panicked. That much blood should not be flowing out of her hand right now.

"Medicine cabinet in the bathroom," she weakly stated. With that much blood loss she was bound to feel lightheaded. "Just please don't take me to the hospital, I'm sure we'd be charged an arm and a leg just to cover up this silly old cut."

Okabe wouldn't think that Japan would charge that much for healthcare in a peaceful future.

He took Kurisu's comment to mind and rushed over to the bathroom opening the medicine cabinet to find anything to help cover up the wound. He managed to find gauze and alcohol and promptly returned to the kitchen. He took Kurisu up by the hand and put the bloodied one over the sink to wash away the blood that made its way out of the wound. He applied pressure to the wound as he washed it in an attempt to help it close up at least a little bit. He turned off the faucet and put a couple of drops of alcohol on the wound and applied pressure. He could see Kurisu suck in her breath in pain and he felt her hand twitch at the burning sensation. Satisfied with what he saw, he got the gauze and wrapped her hand as best he could.

"Hold on to me," he said. "Let's get you to the bed."

She mindlessly nodded and fell onto Okabe. When he said to hold on he didn't mean for her to just stop trying to keep herself up. He chose to pick her up bridal style and guide her to the room on his own feet. He felt deja vu in this, but at least the stakes weren't as high as the last time he did this.

"This would be so romantic had you not cut me a couple minutes ago," Kurisu joked. "Hey, I'm sorry for acting up, Okarin."

"I refuse to accept your apology," he quickly responded to her surprise. "Talk to me when you're more coherent."

The stress that appeared on Kurisu's face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and she just laughed.

He got into the room and was amazed at how much of a mess it was transformed into. Clothes were strewn all across the floor, the covers displaced, and one of the pillows was nowhere to be seen. He placed Kurisu on her side of the bed and let her adjust herself to the only pillow he saw, her pillow.

He crossed over to his side of the bed, the pillow-less side and looked around for his own. He looked underneath the bed and found it, promptly picking it up and was about to place it on the mattress when something caught his eye. An envelope rested in the place his pillow occupied and it had his name on it. He took the envelope and replaced it with the pillow, walking out of the room to let Kurisu recover on her own.

He opened the envelope and investigated its contents. It was a letter. That alone didn't shock him, but seeing who wrote it did.

There, inscribed in the handwriting that he knew so well, the letter started.

" _To the Rintaro that will replace me,"_

* * *

 **A/N: And that's that! Don't you just love cliffhangers after an action-filled chapter? I sure do! Anyway, I sure surprised myself with how fast I managed to finish everything considering I thought I'd take longer to bring this chapter out but here it is! I hope you enjoyed reading it, I sure got to enjoy the drama in this (seeing as I was the one that created it) and I hope you did too. I feel my creative juices flowing so chapter 5 should come right on time or even earlier depending on how I feel. Please do leave a review! It helps me gauge how well I'm doing in terms of anything regarding the story (especially trying to keep everyone within character in a reasonable sense). See you next chapter!**

 **-Quil**


	5. Chapter 5

_"To the Rintaro that will replace me,_

 _Well, I find it pretty hard to write this even though I grew used to writing to myself countless times. However, this is my first time writing to a version of me that comes from the future and, in the end, will end up taking my place. I have all rights to assume that you'll be coming before 2036 finishes so I should get this out of the way now._

 _I'd like to start off by thanking you for what you did for me back in 2010. Without your encouragement I wouldn't have been able to save Kurisu; when the whole world and fate itself seemed like it was against me, it was your D-Movie that spurred me on once more. So, thank you. Thank you for the guidance you gave me to save Kurisu. If it weren't for you, her and I wouldn't be happily married now, I hope you get to enjoy some of that happiness too, I wouldn't know how to be able to handle living without Kurisu as long as you did._

 _Anyway, welcome to the Steins Gate worldline. I wouldn't know when you'd jump into this worldline and I hope this letter was the first thing to welcome you here. If it wasn't, then I'm sorry I hid it in a place that made it harder to find first. You did it, or rather, we did it. Your plan worked to perfection, I was able to save Kurisu and prevent World War III from ever happening and this is the worldline that was born as a result. I've done my best to keep the worldline as it is, but there's just no rest for the weary I suppose. Even so, it seems like this worldline still has the best chance for peace and freedom. While the Alpha Attractor Field dealt with SERN's dictatorship and the Beta Attractor Field dealt with World War III, there was another Attractor Field that I learned of in my time here._

 _Yes, there have been some hiccups that I've had to correct throughout the time that Steins Gate has been open, it_ is _the most unstable worldline because of how it rests between the Alpha and Beta Attractor Fields, but there's one other Attractor Field that Steins Gate is nestled under. This Attractor Field felt oddly familiar to the Alpha worldline, but it was wrong in so many ways. While this isn't the only time the existence of Steins Gate has been threatened, this worldline will always be the one that I wish I never have to revisit._

 _In the year 2020, we were knocked out of the Steins Gate worldline and into an unknown. Luckily for me, I was able to build the trusty divergence meter well before the worldline shift and set this worldline's divergence number: 1.048596. Using my knowledge I rebuilt the divergence meter to have it show a number that would most likely be unfamiliar to you as well: 2.53027. If I had to be honest with you, this worldline was worse than the Alpha worldline. This worldline, the Gamma worldline as I'd like to call it, has me, us, working for SERN. We were the ones that stormed the lab to take the time machine, but we never had to kill Mayuri, she had problems with her health already and she ended up passing away at the same time as she did in the Alpha worldline._

 _How did I know all this? Well, I time-leaped of course. I time-leaped so many times, forcing Kurisu to build the machine to my specifications each time, just to be able to catch my bearings and figure out what went wrong for this worldline. It was hard, in this worldline, the version of myself that I replaced, he was far different from me. Cheap jokes about the fact that we had different tastes aside, my interactions with the lab members in 2010, they all pointed to the fact that this man was much colder and more disconnected from the lab than he should have been. It was in my inquiries that I found out that in this worldline, Y2K did indeed happen, thus forcing everyone's personalities and relationships to me shift enough to make me unfamiliar with all of them. This is also how I realized the cause of the worldline shift, someone from within SERN managed to figure out time travel and sent something back in time to ensure that Y2K happened._

 _Well, I had to go the long way for this one. I had to relive kidnapping Daru and Kurisu as well as the aftermath of it, I knew I couldn't break from the usual unless I wanted to be caught and have the chance to reopen Steins Gate slip by me. It was tough, and to tell you the truth, I don't know how I managed to pull through while the one I loved absolutely hated me. But I did anyway, I slipped back into 2020 and was able to properly go about trying to fix the mess that SERN had created. I used my knowledge in brain science to rejoin Victor Chondria while still working as a Rounder for that damned place. It was also here that I learned a terrible truth about Victor Chondria itself._

 _The Committee of 300. The Organization in our delusions. They have their fingers entrenched in Victor Chondria and I doubt that it didn't just end in the Gamma worldline. Even though I still wasn't able to prove it in my time here, I'm sure Victor Chondria is still connected to the Committee in this worldline. Anyway, I found the root cause and fixed it, I wouldn't want to bore you with all the unimportant details, but I made my way back into the Steins Gate worldline and back in the arms of those I loved. I have reason to believe that we were born from that worldline though. I have no proof to back it up, but I have a hunch that we originated from that worldline and our powers as the Observer are somehow connected to it._

 _So, back to Steins Gate. While it's peaceful in its looks, I have to do a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure that it stays peaceful. Not even the year before, SERN had teamed up with the cyber-ghost of a dead scientist to try and bring about the end of the world by harnessing the power of the Sun's solar flares. In what could be described as the plot to a shounen series, giant robots were involved. There was a group of kids in Tanegashima that were caught in the center and it was up to us to be able to guide them to victory. Daru fashioned a sort of Augmented Reality weapon to be able to get rid of this cyber-ghost and dismantle the Committee's plans for world domination._

 _You would think we wouldn't have to work anymore after working so hard to escape the Alpha and Beta Attractor Fields, huh?_

 _As for personal relationships, well, Kurisu is my wife now (as you could tell by the revelation in my first paragraph). I married her and we both decided to stay in America and work at Victor Chondria University while leading the resistance against the Committee on the side. I'm a neuroscientist in Victor Chondria's Institute of Neuroscience and a professor of Neurophysics 101 here. It's my job to keep finding perfect candidates to work at the Institute and the course is a perfect first-step to weed out the disinterested. As for Kurisu, she stays in the Institute experimenting as she has no want or need for public speaking, she thinks I'm a better fit for that role._

 _You may see a couple differences between the Kurisu that you're used to and the Kurisu before you now. I had her call me Okarin in order to make sure we weren't split up by Dr. Leskinen (big man has a soft heart for those in love), but it shouldn't have lasted as long as it has. That is, she truly means to call you Okarin even though Leskinen is gone and there's a reason for it. In the summer of 2031, Kurisu was kidnapped when she went to Akihabara for a seminar at ATF. I went with her to Japan of course, but she was kidnapped on her way to get things done early at the seminar while I stayed at the hotel and got some more sleep in. I will never forgive myself for allowing Kurisu to be taken from me and it's all thanks to Daru that I was able to get to her as quick as I did. He found her using all the cameras in Akihabara and tracked her to an abandoned alleyway that was closed due to an earthquake that had struck months prior. I couldn't notify the police because they'd have us arrested for hacking into Akihabara's system so you'd see why I chose to run in on my own. But, to be honest, none of those thoughts ran through my head. I just wanted to save my wife._

 _I caught the bastards trying to tear off Kurisu's clothing and I can never forget her cries for help while they slashed at her and violated her. I may have been outnumbered 3 to 1, but my time in the Gamma worldline taught me enough on how to fight and seeing my wife in that state was enough to send me over the edge. These guys were thugs, bastards that wanted to cause harm for the hell of it, they weren't connected to the Committee whatsoever, I'd know because I made sure to put them through the equivalent amount of pain that they had caused my wife. Kurisu and I ended up leaving them on the ground and chose to have Daru call in an anonymous tip later on to get them medical attention._

 _I love Kurisu, I honestly love her so much and it's only possible that I'm able to feel this way because of_ you, _the version of me that went through the Beta Attractor Field without being able to feel her or talk to her as I have. I'm sure she'll be highly observant about the difference between us and you probably may have had to explain yourself before being able to read this letter. I'm sorry if you had to go through any difficulties with her before being able to read this letter if you have, she can be incredibily difficult to speak to when she lets her emotions take control, but that's a good thing about her now I guess. Even though she never went through any severe physical stress other than being cut and groped when she was kidnapped, it still left a lasting impression on her mind and she is the way she is now because of it._

 _Please don't be too hard on her. While she likes to show off as a strong woman, she has a lot of insecurities about herself and her work. If you do end up staying, I hope she ends up getting used to you. But don't force her, let her yell at you, let her hurt you in ways that don't prove fatal, she just needs to vent and in time she'll come around. She's still a tsundere even at 44-years-old, and she may be more susceptible to her feelings because of the ordeal she went through at that time. Please don't take it the wrong way if she insults you, that's just her way of coping._

 _I'm sure you re-read the "if you do end up staying" part multiple times now, but I assure you it's meant to be there. I'm writing this letter to you from one of Daru's hideouts in Japan on July 1st, 2036. After I finish I will store my memories in the servers at the hideout for safe-keeping in case my prediction comes true and you_ do _end up overwriting me. Only Daru and I know of this plan, I couldn't let Kurisu in on it because she'd probably do something hasty if my time does ever come and I can't store my memories in Victor Chondria because the size of my brain data (the memories I hold from all the other worldlines and all those time jumps sure do take up a lot of space) might tip off the Committee._

 _You don't need to worry about Reading Steiner affecting the memories I'm storing, they're to remain completely static once they enter the servers so they can't change if you do ever overwrite me. I made special accomodations to ensure that Reading Steiner wouldn't be a factor, as a neuroscientist I find it to be one of my better experiments that I conducted on my own (with some help from Daru of course)._

 _So, I'm giving you the choice Rintaro Okabe. You can take all the time you want (although I'd prefer you decide quickly and absolutely), but I leave the matter of my existence and your own up to you. It's a hard choice for sure, if you choose to bring me back then your memories would be deleted while mine are input back into our head thus making you cease to exist. But it works both ways, if you choose to take my place indefinitely, my existence would just be like a whisper in the wind thanks to the properties of Reading Steiner. I vowed to keep the Steins Gate worldline as it is and I won't back down. You vowed to open the Gate and you didn't back down from your own battles. This isn't me trying to justify why I should be the one to exist over you, but I'd like to get this point across._

 _I'm willing to fight this battle, I'm not going to let you down. You worked to bring about change, let me keep the world as you envisioned it. I've had recurring dreams of the Beta worldline that continued after I failed the first time_ _. I've seen glimpses of the suffering you had to experience on that worldline, to see Mayuri disappear like she did that day; I could feel what it was like to be there thanks to how vivid the dreams were. Preserving this worldline, however, is a daunting task; one far more difficult than trying to reach it in the first place. I'm not going to lie to you, I've had to go on operations to free test subjects under the Committee, I've been forced to send good men and women on dangerous missions to stop SERN from achieving the dream of time travel, I'm forced to work against the clock because, in this worldline, there is no reset button. If you're willing to put the lives of hundreds of individuals around the globe who wish to stop the Committee in your hands then I'm not stopping you, but I tell you now, don't expect it to be a cakewalk._

 _If you decide to take my spot as the defender of Steins Gate then you can ask Daru for more information on our operations, he's My Favorite Right Arm after all. I told him to make sure to believe me if I ever start talking like I don't belong to this worldline anyway. If you choose to sacrifice yourself to bring me back to life, then tell Daru so that he can prepare your trip to Japan for the swap. But the choice belongs to you, the one who envisioned this worldline in the first place. You are the creator, and now you can either protect your creation or allow me to do it._

 _No matter what, I know you won't make the wrong choice. Since when am I one to make the wrong choice anyway?_

 _El. Psy. Kongroo._

 _P.S: I'm writing this now that I'm back in America. So, as you know, I've placed this under my pillow with a bottle of pills that I've developed. This medication was designed to help control the constant memory overflow because of Reading Steiner, all you need to do is swallow one pill when you feel the memories are becoming too vidid and it will suppress them. Do try and take them within a minute though, I don't know about you but I've been known to lose control of myself and it's practically impossible to bring me back into a coherent state without them, I don't know how Kurisu manages to do it, but it's thanks to her that I'm able to survive some of my worst outbursts. HOWEVER, don't let anyone else even think about ingesting them. They work to suppress memories so unlike how it solves my problem with Reading Steiner, it induces amnesia for a prolonged amount of time. So I repeat, do not let_ any _ordinary person even think about taking those pills, only we are capable of handling them properly. Anyway, good luck._

 _P.P.S: In case you were wondering, the divergence meter is in a wooden box placed underneath our bed. Please do take care of it, making one is a pain in the ass as it is, but you should know that already."_

* * *

 **A/N: EXPOSITION DUMP...sorta. I said I'd get this next chapter out pretty quick didn't I? Well, hope you enjoyed getting to (somewhat) see through the eyes of our very own Steins;Gate Okabe. As you can probably tell by its inclusion in this chapter, I'm a really big fan of the Gamma worldline, and its potential to tell a really interesting story is really high. However, since we're talking about the Steins Gate worldline here, I did my best not to get too carried away with having him write about the Gamma worldline since all that matters is that he recalls his experience. Anyway, Chapter 6 shouldn't come out as quick as this one did merely because I'll be away over the weekend and I won't have my laptop with me to write. It should still be out within a week though. Thanks for reading!**

 **-Quil**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Date: November 14, 2036_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 ** _Time until Overwrite: ERROR - NEGATIVE VALUE - CANNOT COMPUTE_**

Okabe softly set the letter addressed to him down on the dining room table. He didn't know what to feel about the sudden turn of events so he decided to distract himself even if it were for just a couple moments. He looked around and saw a bloodied knife on the floor, he assumed that was the reason why Kurisu got hurt in the first place. He picked it up and headed straight for the kitchen to wash the blood off of it. His thoughts were heavily clouded and for good reason, he was just given the ultimatum that would decide his life.

He placed the knife in the dish rack and made his way to the bottle of pills that were sitting there unassumingly on the kitchen table. It was a clear rectangular case with a white top and the pills were cylindrical blue capsules. He picked up the bottle and investigated.

"So these are capable of stopping my Reading Steiner from overtaking me, huh," he thought out loud. "I really could have used these in the Beta worldline."

He put them back on the kitchen table and made his way back to the dining room table where the letter rested.

Okabe looked the letter over multiple times, but nothing changed. He wasn't imagining a single piece of information regarding the letter. The fact that the version he replaced had the foresight to store his previous memories meant that he was more than qualified for anything. He knew that he wouldn't be able to think everything through and would have probably allowed himself to be overwritten without a chance at revival, but this man opened that chance up for himself and it was all up to Okabe now.

He was a teacher, a scientist. He leads an underground resistance against the Committee of 300 yet he still has the ability to live the semblance of a normal life with Kurisu. Not to mention the fact that he had to endure more worldline shifts while in Steins Gate and spent a good 10 years trapped on another nightmarish worldline, yet he seemed to not have lost his cool whatsoever. Okabe knew that the version he replaced was a much better choice to keep in this worldline, but for some reason he couldn't stand the thought of laying down after trying so hard to get here. He knew he was being selfish and wasn't thinking properly, but he didn't want to just die after enduring the pain of the Beta Attractor Field.

Then he thought of Kurisu, of the pain that she's going through at this moment because she lost the man that saved her not too long ago. The fact that he had no recollection of the event of her kidnapping meant that he had no way of deserving the love she wanted to give. He knew she loved the version that came before him more than anything in the world, that she'd most likely do anything to bring him back, but he didn't want to go.

But at the same time, he didn't want to fight. He just wanted to rest, to be able to relax and not have to worry about his friends dying any minute. The eternity he spent trapped on the Alpha worldline combined with the 3 decades he spent on the Beta worldline along with the 11 years he spent trapped in the time machine made him tired beyond belief. He slumped in the chair with the letter hanging from his right hand. He sighed and straightened out, the choice which was so seemingly obvious was too tough for him to make. He didn't want to die, yet he wanted to not fight; he knew he couldn't have both, but he just wished for that third option to exist, to be some sort of secret route that he could take if he triggered each and every flag he needed, but he knew this wasn't some visual novel.

Okabe got up from his seat, folded the letter, and placed it back in the envelope. He knew that if Kurisu saw it, she would flip out and force him to undergo the memory overwrite. He looked over to his left as he was re-sealing the letter to see that they never ate breakfast. The omelette that Kurisu had made was sitting there, probably cold from the amount of time that passed between her making it and now. He took the plate and went to microwave it, he knew some food in Kurisu's system would help her recover a little faster. While the omelette was heating up in the microwave, he grabbed a glass and filled it with water. The microwave beeped signaling it was done and Okabe grabbed the fork that Kurisu was going to use along with the plate and water and slowly made his way down the hallway into the bedroom.

The door automatically slid open to allow him in.

Kurisu was awake for certain, seems she never properly got much sleep. She looked over at Okabe and softly smiled.

"Breakfast in bed?"

Okabe smiled in return and walked over to where Kurisu was laying. Kurisu adjusted herself to sit up while Okabe placed her omelette and fork on her lap while putting the water next to her glasses on her nightstand.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well I could feel a lot better to be honest," she softly chuckled while looking at her bandaged hand. "But I'm feeling better than I was earlier. Thank you."

"You have no reason to thank me," Okabe waved his hand in front of his face trying to refuse the thanks. "I was the one that hurt you in the first place."

"And it all can be traced back to the moment I accidentally triggered your Reading Steiner to overflow," Kurisu out-logic-ed him. "You can't beat me this time Okarin, the blame can be pinned on me for this one."

"You know about how Reading Steiner affects my memories?"

"Why of course," she smiled. "I was the one that helped you develop those pills in the first place. You did most of the thinking behind how to stop your Reading Steiner, but I helped make your thoughts a reality."

Okabe couldn't help put his hand behind his head and let out a small laugh. Of course Kurisu would be the one behind the miracle pills.

"And? How did you deduce that taking those pills would cause amnesia to regular people?"

"Wait, how do you know that?"

Okabe quickly shut his mouth. The only reason why he knew that was because of the letter that he addressed to himself, but Kurisu doesn't know anything about that. His loose lips may have just caused his plan to crumble into pieces. He could feel Kurisu stare into his very soul as she chewed on her omelette.

Okabe sighed. "I'll tell you once you've recovered well enough from your injury. Just focus on eating for now."

He knew Kurisu wouldn't be satisfied with his response, but she surprisingly let up and focused on eating the omelette she cooked. Okabe stayed seated by her feet as she chewed away, she was a really quick eater; she ate quicker than he had ever seen since the Alpha worldline. He had his suspicions on why she was eating quickly now; she wanted to know how Okabe came across his knowledge of the pills.

Okabe knew he wouldn't be able to fabricate a sound lie within a short time so he decided to tell the truth instead. He knew exactly how Kurisu was going to react once she saw the letter, but there was no stopping it now.

"Wait here for a second," he told her. "Let me go get it."

"It?"

Okabe got up from the bed and stepped out the room. "You'll see when I hand it to you."

He slowly walked down the hall to the dining room table which had the unassuming envelope sitting atop it. He grabbed it and made his way back to the bedroom. At this point, Kurisu had already wolfed down the omelette and was waiting patiently with her glass of water in her hand. Without a word he placed the envelope on Kurisu's lap and made his way back to his side of the bed as Kurisu curiously picked the envelope up.

"Oh, I saw this under your pillow earlier."

Okabe didn't bother speaking and instead reached under the mattress looking for what he needed and found it almost immediately. The smooth feel of a wooden case. He grabbed the case without paying attention to Kurisu and turned his back to the lady who was now reading the letter. He took the small machine that represented the only hope he had in the hell that was the Alpha worldline. It may not serve any purpose anymore considering it depended on manual input and was only useful for being sent to the past, but it was still comforting to see that number: 1.048596.

He sighed as he turned the farthest right dial counter-clockwise.

The number changed: 1.048595.

He knew he didn't belong and this divergence meter will forever serve as that reminder for him. This was no longer just the Steins Gate worldline. This was the Steins Gate worldline with the nightmare of the Beta worldline tainting it; that taint emanated from the man who lived and breathed World War III. He was still trying to get used to the whole "living a normal life" thing, but it was a lot harder considering how long he spent fighting in resistance of the new and oppressive American-occupied Japanese government.

Okabe was getting ready to put the divergence meter back in its case when he felt a pair of arms snake round his chest.

"Thank you for showing me the letter," Kurisu said. "I can't put into words how much it means to me that you chose to show me this letter instead of lie to me."

"And? What's your opinion on it?"

"I leave the choice to you as well," she rested her head against his back. "It's what he would want and I'm not going to get in your way."

Okabe sighed, that wasn't the opinion he had expected nor hoped. He could feel Kurisu poke her chin over his right shoulder.

"Wait, the number changed? What's that supposed to mean, I thought the number wasn't supposed to change anymore?"

He couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "I changed it myself, don't worry."

"Why?"

"Because this truly isn't Steins Gate if I'm here."

Kurisu's right hand which was still wrapped around Okabe's chest detached itself from her left and it grabbed the switch that controlled the nixie tube on the farthest right of the divergence meter. She twisted it clockwise and the number was set back to what it originally was before Okabe touched it.

"Don't do that to yourself," it almost sounded like Kurisu was scolding him. "You belong just as much as Mayuri and I do. You're the reason why we're here, you deserve it."

"But-"

Okabe was interrupted by the sensation of lips being pressed to his neck for a quick second.

"Okarin," Kurisu said resting her chin atop his shoulder again. "I know we didn't start our morning off right, but in the end I love you no matter what worldline you come from. You saved me once in 2010 and you saved me again a couple years ago and I could never have been so lucky to be married to someone who cares for me as much as you do."

"But I gave up on you," Okabe felt the guilt of that August day settle in. "I'm a coward who couldn't fight to save the woman I loved."

"Now now," Kurisu tried comforting him. "I can't stand by and let my husband call himself a coward now can I? You lived through the horrors of the Beta Attractor Field, you fought hard to bring this worldline didn't you? How are you a coward for that? And if you ever truly gave up on me, then I wouldn't be sitting here in this bed with you right now. Okarin, sometimes you say the dumbest things you know?"

"You really are different from the girl I knew in the Alpha Attractor Field, huh?" Okabe softly chuckled. "You're so grown up and so touchy that it's almost impossible to compare you to before."

He got the reaction he wanted, she loosened up her arms and she freed herself from him. This movement allowed him to lean down and set the divergence meter on the ground and promptly turn to grab Kurisu and pull her to him before she got too far.

"But," Okabe was validating himself now. "The fact that you're always there for me, just like you were on that hellish world, I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me."

"The choice is yours now, Rintaro Okabe," he could hear her saying against his chest. "I gave you good enough reason to stay, didn't I?"

She looked up to him and smiled as she said it.

"But why would you want me to stay?" Okabe couldn't help asking her, he wasn't the man she married to begin with. "There's a chance for you to see your husband again, why not push for me to take it?"

"Stupid," Kurisu rested her head in Okabe's chest once more. "I told you that you're my husband no matter what choice you make. And if you decide to stay I might just jam an electrode into your hippocampus to see if I can make those memories come back myself."

Kurisu giggled. Okabe nervously laughed at the prospect.

"Come on now," Kurisu tried explaining. "That's a pretty good joke mind you."

"Yeah, and you usually said it as a threat whenever I 'misbehaved'."

"Wait, I've said that before? No wonder it sounded so familiar."

Kurisu freed herself from Okabe and grabbed his hands with hers. "Don't think of you staying as something that would drag anyone down. Your different experience coupled with the fact that you're still literally the same person as the man that came before you makes you just as valid to stay here like he does."

"To be honest with you," Okabe looked down trying to avert her eyes. "I expected you to tell me that I could just die and bring back your husband."

"That's just too cruel, even for me."

Kurisu released his right hand and raised his head up to make eye contact with her.

"I learned my lesson Okarin," she said. "You're my husband no matter how I'm supposed to see it. And, I'm sorry for saying the things I said earlier."

Okabe couldn't help smiling. "Apology accepted my darling assistant."

"Okay," Kurisu quickly interjected. "I may be your darling, but I sure as hell am still not your assistant."

"Now," Okabe quickly disconnected himself from Kurisu. "I'm still not sure about anything, but if there's anyone that can really give me the push in either direction then it's Daru."

"You know he's probably going to tell you the same thing, right?" Kurisu said still sitting on the bed. "If you want to try your luck then go ahead and call him, your PhoneDroid is right there."

Kurisu pointed at the tablet-looking device resting on Okabe's nightstand.

"PhoneDroid?"

"It's a thing that was first developed way back before 2020, but so far they've made better updates on the hardware and practically monopolized the development of smart phones. Don't worry though, Daru jailbroke each of ours so that it's not tracked by anyone."

"Oh right," Okabe couldn't believe he forgot. "I'm still fighting a resistance in this worldline."

Without much else thought, Okabe picked up the phone and began looking through his contacts to find Daru.

He pressed on the contact picture and anxiously awaited for his Favorite Right Arm to answer the phone on the other end.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, you waited that long for this short of a chapter to come out.**

 **So, bad news: school is rearing to start up and this little side project just won't be able to get as much attention from me as it has over these past couple weeks (I write other stories and I'm prioritizing my original works which I'm trying to get published). With that, the wait-time for each chapter is going to have to increase by quite a lot since I only really see myself working on this thing each weekend. Seeing as I don't want to see the quality suffer because of how little time I'm spending to work on it now, it may take a lot longer to pump out a new chapter.**

 **Some good news though: You can pick how the story ends! That's right! I have a rough idea of how to guide the story for both instances, but I can't choose because I hate choosing. I put up a poll to determine whether the Okabe from the Beta Attractor Field stays or if the Okabe from Steins Gate returns. If no one chooses or if the vote is split, I'll just flip a coin I guess.**

 **Oh well, thanks for reading! Don't expect to wait for an eternity to get chapter 7, but don't think it'll come out as quick as these other chapters have.**

 **StrawPoll:** **.me/13422096 (just put strawpoll before the dot to access the link)**

 **~Quil**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: After a month-long hiatus, I bring you Chapter 7 of Overwritten. I'm sure it's known, but none of the characters in the story so far belong to me, they all belong to the godly being, Chiyomaru. Thank him for allowing me to write this story.**

* * *

 _ **Date: July 1, 2036**_

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 ** _Time until Overwrite: 4 months, 13 days._**

"El. Psy. Kongroo."

Daru couldn't help cringing at how childish Okabe seemed. He rolled away from his desk by the Memory Storage Unit ver 2.43 and looked at Okabe who smiled proudly at his work.

"Did you really have to sound out your entire letter? It's like I was peeking into your life man and that's weird."

"Couldn't help it," Okabe said. "He's the only person that truly understands me. Well, he _is_ me anyway."

They were in one of Daru's many hideouts throughout Japan. He had an excellent foothold here because of his work as a hacker and resistance leader. It was thanks to their efforts that the Committee is practically non-existent here. Now, the hideout just served as a way to keep their experiments and their operation planning out of the eyes of the public, even then, Okabe couldn't trust that the Committee wasn't watching. The hideout was just a container house, borrowed from a friend that Daru had made over the internet, his name was Takumi Nishijou, but he usually went by Neidhardt. He was gracious enough to allow Daru to take it over and remaster it into the sophisticated place it was now. However, he did keep all the figures that the guy collected, they were in _pristine_ condition and there was no way he'd just desecrate them, they deserved to stay.

Daru looked back over at Okabe. "You sure it's okay to let him take control even though he doesn't know anything about what's going on now?"

"I can't force him to overwrite himself," Okabe responded. "The only job this letter is supposed to serve is to tell him his options. No matter what, the choice is his to make."

"Why a letter though?"

"You honestly think he'd be able to find a note written on the PhoneDroid? Do you really think they have PhoneDroids in World War III?"

"I guess you have a point," Daru shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the computer. "You ready to do this?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

Daru leaned back in his chair, stretching his arm away from his computer. Another job that took over the better portion of two days was finally completed and he could finally rest easy. Despite how much the jobs paid, it really cost him the time he wanted to set aside for Suzuha and Yuki and he regretted every moment of it now that Suzuha was all grown up.

It was currently 3 AM in Akiba, Suzuha was attending the University of Tokyo to study Engineering so she lived in a place closer to the campus instead of having to take the morning commute all the way over which left Yuki and himself alone in their humble abode. It was a 4 room house: the living room and kitchen area, the bedroom and all its commodities, the guest bedroom, and Daru's workstation. The 3 separate rooms were close enough to one another which allowed for Daru to swiftly dim his computer light, make his way out of his workstation, and sneak into the bedroom where Yuki lay.

His angel of a wife was visible from the room entrance, her breathing in tune with the analog clock they had on the wall for keepsake. Right next to her was a red-haired girl whom he had chosen to take care of while Mayuri and Luka did their thing out somewhere in South America. Kagari Shiina, Mayuri's ten year old daughter, was nestled under Yuki's arm, acting just like Suzuha had when she had her own nightmares and ran from her bedroom (now the guest bedroom for none other than Kagari) to her parents. Daru couldn't help smiling and was in the process of getting in the shower when his PhoneDroid started buzzing incessantly in his pocket. Not wanting to wake up the girls, he quickly rushed out of the room and into the living room, silently shutting the door behind him.

Daru looked at the contact information on the screen and couldn't help sighing when he saw Okabe's contact information pop up on the screen. He swore that the guy didn't understand the concept of time zones and expected Daru to be awake at such a leisurely hour. He let the call go through, making himself comfy on the couch because he was sure that Okabe was contacting him for some sort of matter that pertained to Valkyrie.

Okabe's face popped up on the other side of the line, looking slightly more withered than what Daru saw before. Nothing changed physically, but Daru could tell that something was different about his demeanor just by looking at him these first two seconds.

"What's up, Okarin?"

"Daru?"

"Yeah?" Daru was getting suspicious.

"What's with the beard?"

"If it looks a little rough around the edges just know that I've been working on that job you wanted me to do these past two days so I couldn't exactly groom myself properly."

Okabe still seemed slightly confused. "Never thought you'd grow out so much facial hair at any point in time."

"Listen man," Daru was getting impatient and it didn't help that he was tired. "In case you haven't noticed for the umpteenth time, I'm 8 hours behind you guys and it's 3 in the freaking morning right now. Whatever you have to say, just get it done with because I'm tired and I'm sorely lacking the love of my wife."

Okabe's complexion lightened up slightly. "How's Yuki?"

"Please don't tell me you called just to ask how my wife is doing."

"Get to the point already," Daru could hear a female voice in the background.

"Is that Kuri-tan?" Daru could recognize that voice from a mile away.

"Hi Daru," the phone tilted to show Kurisu behind Okabe. "Sorry for bothering you at this hour, but it's kinda important."

"More important than me getting my well-deserved sleep?"

"Yes."

"Well then," Daru adjusted himself. "I'm all ears."

"Go on," Daru could see Kurisu stare at Okabe. "Tell him."

Okabe finally looked straight into the PhoneDroid's camera for what seemed like the first time since the call began. It was then that Daru could immediately tell why Okabe seemed so different. The way his eyes looked, the way they seemed so devoid of the life and character that Daru was used to.

"Don't tell me," Daru blurted out before Okabe could say anything. "You came from World War III, didn't you?"

"How'd you know?" Okabe eyed the camera in seeming awe at the fact that Daru picked up on the fact well before any emotion was shown.

"We've been as close as brothers can be for 27 years now," Daru explained. "Those are not the eyes of the same Okarin I spent those 27 years with."

"Oh," Okabe's eyes darted downwards almost as if he were ashamed.

Daru sighed. As much as he hated the fact that every single memory he made with Okabe was basically stuck inside that memory converter in the storage container in Shibuya, he understood that he shouldn't be so hard on the man that stood before him. Sure, it may not have been the Rintaro Okabe he grew up with, the Okabe that was his best man and vice versa, the Okabe that was practically the uncle to his little girl, or the Okabe that was the leader of Valkyrie, but the man was Rintaro Okabe nonetheless and he couldn't hate him for that.

"So?" Daru asked.

"So, what?"

"Did you read the letter you wrote to yourself?"

Okabe nodded, his eyes still facing the floor. Daru could see Kurisu lay off her stare and instead softly rest her head on Okabe's back. She seemed to have adapted pretty well to the fact that her husband had become a completely different man.

"And? What's your answer?"

"I was hoping you'd help me come to that conclusion."

Daru sighed exasperatedly and looked toward the ceiling. "Damn you, Okarin. Damn your indecision and damn your rules."

His words came out as a whisper, but Okabe couid surely hear it.

"I'm not allowed to make that choice for you," Daru said. "Strict instructions by you yourself. No matter what I'd like to say on the matter, I'm bound by respect for you to make your own decision."

"Daru!" Okabe snapped. "Tell me. Tell me you want that man you knew back. You want him back, don't you!?"

Kurisu backed off of Okabe and eyed him carefully. Daru could see her hand extending to her nightstand where a bottle of pills lay.

"Tell me this Okarin," Daru calmly responded. "Why are you so intent on sacrificing yourself for no other purpose than to make your friends happy? Don't you care about your own happiness too? What is it that _you_ want? And don't give me all this crap about keeping everyone happy. Give me that one selfish reason of yours that keeps you motivated. That one reason that benefits you and only you."

Okabe muttered something that Daru couldn't hear, but it seemed like Kurisu could hear it clearly. Her eyes softened and she smiled.

"What'd you say?"

"I said I want to be with Kurisu."

Daru smiled warmly. "There you have it. Ponder on it will ya? You don't have to make that choice right this second despite what the letter says, we're well past the time of a proper bridge and we'd probably have to catch the other guy up with a letter of your own if you do decide to sacrifice yourself."

"Anyway," Daru switched the conversation over to Kurisu. "Any word on what the New Encephalitis Cases could be, Kuri-tan?"

"Nothing to report," Kurisu responded as she returned to leaning on Okabe's back. "It doesn't seem to be contagious, but it seems like a quarter of the population that experienced it in 2010 re-experienced it last night so I haven't had a chance to head to the Institute and examine those who have it."

"So we won't have to sacrifice much manpower in regards to this?" Daru asked to be safe. "I don't want to throw it to the trash and just let the Committee gobble it up and achieve some plan for world domination."

"I wouldn't believe it to be that important yet, no."

"Now I remember," Okabe interrupted the two. "The New Encephalitis Cases happened in 2010 on the Beta Attractor Field. It's not a disease."

Okabe drew puzzled looks from both Daru and Kurisu.

"You said you _thought_ it was some form of Reading Steiner back in 2010, but you didn't have anything concrete to back it up." Kurisu responded.

"It's Reading Steiner," Okabe swiftly said. "It's not at the level of my own, but these people who are labeled as New Encephalitis patients are people who experienced Reading Steiner. I'd know. Leskinen exploited them in the Beta lines."

"Wait," Daru stopped Okabe from speaking more. "The professor exploited people? Why?"

"He never said exactly why, he just said that his motives were complex and that I wouldn't understand. I feel like he was trying to use worldline convergence and their unique cases to develop something in the time machine race."

"You think he still has those plans?" Kurisu asked.

"Does he still work as a neuroscientist?"

"He retired a couple years ago," Kurisu said. "No one knows exactly where he's gone though."

"Daru," Okabe never answered any of Kurisu's questions but he was working on it. "How much manpower do we have to spare for these New Encephalitis patients?"

"Depends on what you want," Daru shrugged his shoulders. "We have a couple men to spare for assassin-"

"You can stop there. I want extraction, I don't want anyone killed."

"I was only kidding Mr. World War III Vet," Daru raised his hands in defense. "We have a few hundred men scattered across the massive population zones in America as well as a couple agents currently working here in Japan."

"Okay," Okabe seemed to have already come up with a plan. "I need all their hospital records deleted off the face of the Web. I also need there to be no physical evidence of their stay in their respective hospitals whatsoever. We can't risk Leskinen - or more importantly - the Committee getting their hands on them. I don't want to go through seeing them wired up and tested on again."

"You got it boss," Daru said. "I'll make sure to send the message out before I go to bed. Is that all you need?"

Okabe looked over at Kurisu who nodded then looked back at the camera. "That'll be all."

Daru was about to shut off the call before he was interrupted.

"Hey, Daru."

It was Okabe.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the advice."

"Anything for the greatest resistance leader on the planet," Daru chuckled. "Welcome to your 'beloved worldline' as I'm sure you'd call it. Enjoy it. You earned it."

Daru waved one last time to the couple and then shut off the call. He made sure to put his PhoneDroid on silent so that he could at least peacefully get through the night. He slowly rose up from the couch and made his way back to his workstation, re-lighting the dark screen of the computer. He opened up the Deep Web page that housed all the information that Valkyrie held and typed in a single message on the bulletin board:

 **Code Red: All active agents in America and Japan must begin working on freeing the New Encephalitis patients from any hospital they may reside in. Use any means to make it seem like they never checked in to begin with. Failure will mean the Committee would be one step closer to achieving time travel once again. Get moving boys and girls.**

Daru hit send and watched the new message pop up on the bulletin above all the past messages he sent. He finally let his computer sleep and quietly slipped into the bedroom. The good thing about Daru was that he was quick at taking showers so it took him about 5 minutes just to get ready for bed without disturbing the two sleeping angels.

He slipped into the covers, sandwiching Kagari between himself and his wife, and closed his eyes. Feeling all the weight of his eyelids come crashing down and forcing him into a deep slumber, a slumber that was only possible for people running on 48 hours of nonstop work.

* * *

 **A/N: Eh? I hope this was enjoyable. I found Daru's character really fun to write and I _feel_ like I got his 2036 character down better than I could nail the other characters. Anyway, I hope this was enjoyable despite the seeming month wait-time for a new chapter. School and novel-writing has really taken away from my fanfic writing, but I do my best to give this sucker some love every now and then. Thank you so, so much for reading! It means a lot to see people sticking around even though I seem to have commitment issues. I promise, I don't, I just have time-management issues. I will keep true to my promise of ending the fic and -who knows - maybe I'll include some sort of exciting sexual topic to explore and make sure that M rating is well-deserved ;)**

 **It depends on how I feel though. Anyway.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~Quil**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi. Let's continue with the story shall we?**

* * *

 ** _Date: November 15, 2036_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 ** _Time until Overwrite: ERROR - NEGATIVE VALUE - CANNOT COMPUTE_**

Okabe awoke with a start. Sweat covered his brow and his breathing was shallow. Loud bangs were reverberating all around him, forcing him out of where he was and onto the floor covering his ears. Flashes of tumbled buildings, fires, and piles of bodies were intermittently appearing before him, bringing him back to the war he had tried so hard to escape. All he could do was yell incoherently, he was trying to make it all stop but the visions and the noises got louder and louder. The bangs gave way to screams of agony, gunfire, orders being barked, the crying of young children, the hungry snarls of flames. His eyes were clamped shut, but he could still see clearly, his ears were covered tightly, but he could still hear with clarity, nothing was making it stop.

Under all the sounds that engulfed him, he could vaguely hear his name being called. It was drowned out by all the noise, but he reached for it. In his mind's eye, the lithe form of a woman took shape before him, her chestnut colored hair flowing amidst the terror and chaos of war. She had a worried look on her face, and she kept calling out his name. The sounds of war were getting drowned out by her voice, something sweet and angelic, welcoming and soft, soothing and stern. The sounds of war gave way to total silence, the sights he was forced to go through were fading away.

Okabe woke up gasping for breath, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes were stuck to his skin and his breathing was as ragged as it was in the dream he had. Kurisu was sat next to him, a worried arm resting on his chest and a look of anxiousness covered her face. Okabe sat up despite the light weight sitting on his chest. He tried freeing himself from the cumbersome covers that were attached to his sweaty appendages. He looked around the room, no signs of war, just a plain old half-gray/half-red bedroom with hints of sun poking through the blinds. He leaned back against his bed's headrest and tried catching his breath as best he could, trying to get the gory images out of his head.

"Are you okay?" Kurisu asked from beside him.

He took a couple more deep breaths, calming his heart rate as he did.

"Okarin?"

Okabe looked over at his worried wife, her face still showing signs of distress at his discomfort.

"It's nothing," he said. "Just a bad dream."

Kurisu got out of bed in a flash. "Let me fetch you some water."

"Kurisu, you don't have to," Okabe tried calling out, but his wife was already out the door.

Okabe looked over at his nightstand to see his digital clock, the letter he left himself, and the bottle of Reading Steiner pills. The clock read 6:59 in the morning right before it started beeping loudly once it turned over to 7. Okabe hit the snooze button and comforted himself in his bed. He was accustomed to having nightmares like that, but they never ended the way it did this time. He could only guess that Kurisu's actual presence in his life was beginning to take a positive toll on him. Even if it didn't remove his nightmares completely, he was glad thay maybe he wouldn't have to experience them for long.

He took another deep breath before he tossed the bed-covers off of him and stood up. He stretched his arms upward and looked out the window, opening the blinds for him to behold the sight of downtown Los Angeles. Kurisu spent most of the day before trying to fill him in on what day-to-day life was usually like for the pair. He was very obviously taken aback when he heard that he now resided in the United States instead of Japan considering he had never set foot off Japan save for that one instance when he went to rescue Mayuri and Suzuha. Luckily for him, Okabe could speak, read, and write in English thanks to how often he had to cooperate with American rebels in order to plan his raids and supply runs. The real problem however, was Okabe's day-job. He was a professor at Victor Chondria University, a Neurophysics professor. He had absolutely no idea what that field of science was about save for a couple mentions here and there before the war began on the Beta Attractor Field. Today was his first day taking over his past self on the job, but Kurisu hasn't really been much of a help. Apparently, the only thing she knew for certain was that her husband was quite eccentric when it came to teaching courses and, as a result, only sat in on his class once because she could feel the embarassment of being his wife.

Today was a Monday, the first day of the week. Okabe sighed and started making his way to the door until he bumped into Kurisu at the entrance and got water all over his shirt.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot!?" Kurisu asked almost as if she were the one that fell victim to having water spilled on her.

"I was getting out of bed so that I could serve myself breakfast," he said. "I told you I was fine."

"Why are you getting out of bed, though? It's early in the morning, you could have just sat there a bit with me."

"There's classes today at 8 and 1:30 if I'm not mistaken. I have to start getting ready."

Kurisu frowned. "You're not gonna cancel your classes for today? I thought you said you didn't know much about Neurophysics as a scientific field?"

"You never told me I had the choice to do that!" Okabe threw his arms up in the air. "I don't know how any of this works, my narrow-minded assistant! Why do I keep you around if you insist on not telling me important details?!"

The air that was heavy with callbacks to the past was beginning to lighten up as Okabe finally settled back into himself.

" _You're_ keeping _me_ around?! What kind of joke is this?!" Kurisu retorted.

"Out of the way, assistant! I'm going to teach these classes today, regardless of what you have to say!" Okabe pushed through Kurisu who offered very little resistance to begin with.

Okabe got halfway down the hall before Kurisu started again. "Oh yeah? Who's going to serve you breakfast?"

"Why, myself of course."

"Even after that mess of an omelette you made yesterday?"

"It wasn't a mess, it was actually quite scrumptious."

"Fair enough. How are you going to get to campus from here?"

"I'll just use that droid-phone-thing to guide me to where I need to go, it has a map right?"

"Of course. Do you know what building your class resides in?"

Okabe flinched. His answer didn't come quick enough so Kurisu pressed onward.

"Do you even know what you're going to teach your students?"

Okabe clicked his tongue and breathed through his teeth. An idea suddenly hit his head and he turned around.

"Then prove your worth to me by guiding me to my classroom, assistant. I believe I know _exactly_ what to lecture about this time around."

"Oh? And what'll that be?"

Okabe smiled and turned to Kurisu who had her arms crossed, facing him. "Sit in on the lecture and you'll find out."

A small smile escaped from Kurisu. She closed her eyes and shook her head before making her way down the narrow hallway toward him. She placed her finger on his left shoulder, turning him around by dragging it across his chest. She walked past him as he stood there staring incredulously at the woman.

"Get yourself changed, dummy," she said once she got to the entrance of the kitchen. "I'll make our breakfast."

Okabe laughed. "It seems like my assistant is already working on regaining my favor!"

Within a second of saying it, a steak knife flew past Okabe's face and embedded itself in the wall further down the hall. Okabe's eyes widened, he looked at the wall then he looked back at the kitchen which was inhabited by his fire-eyed wife who had gone into an attack stance. A couple seconds passed in such a position before she straightened out, flipped her hair, then shrugged her shoulders.

"Would you mind getting my glasses, Okarin~?" Kurisu asked in the sweetest voice he'd heard her speak in. "I seem to have forgotten them on my nightstand."

Okabe didn't know whether to scream, comply with what his wife asked, or run. He chose to do all three at once.

"Are you crazy!?" he yelled at her while dashing to the room, passed the knife, to get her glasses. "You threw that thing without your glasses on, down a hallway that could barely fit the both of us!? Did you even think for a second that maybe you'd hit me with it!?"

Okabe grabbed her glasses, and hurried his way out of the room, grabbing the knife as he passed it again.

"Why wouldn't I?" Kurisu said with an outstretched hand in wait for Okabe. "You called me your assistant three times in a row without any sort of retribution on my end. It's only fair that I get it when you called me your assistant the fourth time."

Okabe placed the glasses in her palm. Almost as if she were a pressure sensor, her left hand flew from her side, grabbing the knife out of an unsuspecting Okabe's hand by the handle and threateningly held it to his throat. He could feel the tip of the knife on his Adam's Apple and felt it poke at it when he gulped down his saliva in fear and anxiousness.

"K-Kurisu?" he said. "You're not being serious, are you?"

Okabe felt the pressure ease off his throat as Kurisu backed off and twirled the knife in her hand.

"'Kurisu' just rings a lot better to the ear, don't you think, darling? Was it that hard to say?"

Okabe made a little more room for himself by backing up from his wife. "You think threats to my life will make me forget to remind you of your role, Assis-"

Kurisu's eyes shifted back onto him, giving him a stare sharper than the knife she currently held.

"You know what? I'm just going to go change."

"That seems like a good idea," Kurisu said while putting the knife away in the drawer she grabbed it from. "Breakfast will be ready when you get out."

Okabe quickly shuffled back into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

* * *

 _Oh my god, I just threw a damn knife at him._ Kurisu thought.

She was impressed with her ability to appear threatening to her husband, but she couldn't help hyperventilating a little at the fact that she just threw a knife down the hall _at_ Okabe without her glasses on.

 _What if I hit him? What if I had thrown it one inch farther to the right?_

Kurisu bent down at the stove to grab a pan from the cupboard, maybe cooking would distract her from the stunt she pulled. She placed the pan ontop of the stove and turned it on before turning around and getting the ingredients she needed out of the fridge. She placed the necessary amount of butter in the pan and began mixing the eggs with the salt and pepper while she waited for the butter to melt completely. Once the butter settled, she poured the contents of the bowl onto the pan and began adjusting it to make sure it went in properly. She then filled the omelette with cheese and ham and topped it off with a perfect flip onto the plate she had ready.

She then repeated the process for her own omelette, save for putting ham in hers, and placed both on the table in the dining room.

When she re-entered the kitchen to get the pair's coffee ready, she saw Okabe coming down the hallway once more, wearing a black shirt with a bright red necktie and a labcoat ontop of it. He had black slacks on with his favorite pair of shiny dress shoes. Kurisu got flashes of the time before Reading Steiner came into effect for Okabe as this was usually the style of clothing he went with, albeit he usually wore white with a black vest instead of something entirely black. This new style-choice seemed to fit him a lot better though, and she found him a lot hotter than usual because of it. She couldn't afford to let him know about such a thought with her body language so she did her best to continue on without stopping to look at him.

"Your omelette's on the table," she told him trying to keep her eyes off him. "I'm getting your coffee ready."

"Why thank you, assistant," he said walking passed her. "I'm glad you're back to seeing the good in serving me."

She could feel her eye twitch the same way it did when she threw the knife at him and she cornered him on the kitchen table with nothing but her hands.

"Do you _want_ to die?" she asked. "Just because you look _really_ hot in that outfit doesn't mean you could go back to calling me that _stupid_ nickname."

Okabe raised his eyebrow at her and Kurisu didn't know the reason why until it hit her.

She backed off. "I-uh-I d-didn't mean it like that...idiot."

"You can't pull that tsundere stuff on me when we're _married_ , Christina."

"Now just who are you calling tsundere, you no-brained scientist?"

"I'm afraid you mean _mad_ scientist, my darling assistant," he laughed before putting his hand on her head to create space between them. "It seems like I'm running a bit late so let's abbreviate this a bit, shall we?"

Kurisu let out an angry snort before going back to the coffee pot and pouring the black elixir into two separate white mugs. She assumed that this version of her husband would like his coffee with just a packet of sugar so she went with the idea while sweetening hers up a little more with some milk. She grabbed both mugs and walked into the dining room where Okabe was already seated and waiting for her to enter.

She placed his mug next to his plate and found her seat at the table.

She looked at him once more, getting her eyes caught in his.

He smiled. "Let's dig in, shall we?"

* * *

 **AGHH. I DID IT. I wrote myself into a bit of a hole at the end of Chapter 7, but I feel like this was the best course of action. I _really_ liked how this chapter turned out despite it being short and I hope you enjoyed it too. I imagine you all can assume what the next chapter will have in store and I promise it will: be interesting, possibly cause an existential crisis or two, and be longer than these last couple chapters. I'm getting back into the swing of things, but don't expect anything for a bit because it's a tough topic to tackle through the eyes of someone like Okabe.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed another chemistry chapter with the lovely duo, I swear I'm trying to get the sense of being 40 years old down, but I can't help bring some of that teenage bickering between them because it's just so natural.**

 **I promise (here's to hoping I keep it) that it won't take as long as it did for me to push chapter 9 out as it did this chapter because I actually have something that can guide my ideas unlike chapter 7 which kinda ended in a dead end save for a single plot point that can't exactly be resolved within a day. I hope you guys will keep on reading and I doubly hope that y'all can send some reviews in so that I can have a general sense of your guys' satisfaction with my performance.**

 **Thanks for reading,**

 **Quil~**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: All characters and ideas belong to Chiyomaru Studio. I'm grateful to you all who have stuck with this project for as long as it's been going. Here's to chapter 9.**

* * *

 _ **Date: December 7, 2029**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)**_

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 6 years, 10 months, 29 days.**_

"And that will conclude lecture for today," Okabe said in English. "I hope you all enjoy your Christmas break. There will be no homework posted."

Kurisu watched as Okabe made his way back to his desk and began packing while the lecture hall cleared out around her. She got a couple passing glances from the students who were exiting, of course recognizing the renowned neuroscientist who inhabited the same room as them.

The lecture hall was mostly empty except for a pair of girls who walked up to Okabe's desk, one taking the lead and the other just sitting back while she watched her friend. The girl got Okabe's attention and they began talking. It only took a short amount of time before an uncomfortable look flashed upon Okabe's face and his eyes darted toward Kurisu then back to the girls. This reaction prompted Kurisu to stand up. She could tell Okabe didn't want her anywhere near these girls, but she started walking as he was frantically trying to explain something without alerting her to Kurisu's presence.

Kurisu got behind the girl in the back, a brunette, and listened intently.

"But Professor Okabe," the girl talking to her husband said in an attempt at a seductive tone. "No one has ever said no to me, and I really want to know what's in those pants of yours. Otherwise, I might tell daddy that you sexually harassed me and I could have him revoke your position here."

Okabe's face went from a soft lightheartedness to a cold stare.

"If you want to blackmail me, you should try harder than that," he said. "I'm not scared of you or your dad. But if I were you right about now, I'd be afraid of _her_."

Okabe looked over at Kurisu who had her arms crossed, trying so hard not to yell at either girl.

Both girls turned around and gasped.

"Dr. Okabe," the brunette she stood next to said. "This isn't what it looks like."

Kurisu ignored what she said.

"Get off the stage before I drag you off," she told the girl next to Okabe before turning to the brunette. "I could have you both expelled from this university for sexual harassment and for trying to blackmail a professor."

"B-but I didn't do anything! It was her idea!" the brunette pointed at her friend.

"Get out!" she yelled at both of them. "If I hear any word of any kind of harassment from you two from Professor Okabe again, I will personally ensure you have no future here. Understand me!?"

"Yes, Dr. Okabe!" the girl who was on the stage said before running out of the hall with her friend.

"Why do you get to be called Dr. while I'm left with the measly Professor title? Don't they know I completed my PhD too?"

Kurisu turned back toward Okabe, her arms still crossed. "How often does that happen?"

"Would you believe me if I said that this was the first time that has ever happened?"

"I'd have trouble doing so, but I'll put my trust in you."

"Good," he said contentedly. "How'd you like the lecture?"

Kurisu got up to the stage to help Okabe pack up his briefcase. "It was a bit simple for my tastes, but then again, I don't need these concepts dumbed down for me to understand."

Okabe chuckled. "It's the only way to keep people interested in the work we do. But then there's the occasion of any genius in the crowd coming up to me after the lecture for a better explanation using concepts we know fully well. To be honest, I thought those girls were going to do the same thing. It's a good thing you were observing today's lecture."

"Yeah, and I may have to observe more just in case," Kurisu said coyly. "I don't think you'd be able to handle yourself against a couple horny teenagers."

"Weren't we a couple horny teenagers back then?"

Kurisu's face went instantly red. She wanted to bury herself in something to hide her embarassment.

"Don't say that, idiot! That was back then! We have more self-control now, don't we?"

Okabe laughed at her embarassment. "The point remains. I know what it's like, so I can handle myself just fine, Assistant."

Kurisu's hand instinctively went up and squeezed Okabe's cheeks together in a force that brought discomfort for the mad scientist.

"I guess I'll trust that," Kurisu smiled before planting a peck on Okabe's puckered lips. "Remember that you're mine, and I'm yours."

She released him and started walking off the stage and out the hall, satisfied with how much she helped Okabe pack.

"However," she turned around and pointed at her husband. "I'm not your assistant!"

* * *

Kurisu snuck into the lecture hall. She still needed time to get ready so she sent Okabe on his way to the university and guided him through the campus while she was changing into her proper clothing. At this point, the hall was close to packed so she just sat by the door. The students around her noticed her and flinched a bit at the presence of such a renowned scientist in a course such as Neurophysics 101. However, as the good students they were, the focused their attention to the front, at the stage where her husband was standing.

She watched as he unpacked the same briefcase he always had on hand, almost as if he knew what he was doing. She could only wonder at what was going on in his mind at that very moment.

* * *

Okabe's internal alarm was blaring. He cursed at himself for volunteering himself to lecture today, but there was no backing out now. He never expected that a course with the name Neurophysics would have as packed a room as it did currently. He loosened his tie a bit and wiped sweat from his brow using the handkerchief he stashed in his lab coat. He had no papers prepared, in fact, he just unpacked his suitcase to see where he had left off. He hoped that the past version of him had not ventured upon the topic he had planned to talk about and by the looks of the papers he was going through, he could only consider himself very lucky as it turned out his other version planned to lecture on that very same topic _today._ He thanked every god he could think of at the fact that he was moving on as if nothing happened. The coincidence was rare enough that he felt that if he entered the lottery, he'd win it all. He also came across quite a couple notes scribbled by his past self that were obviously addressed to him. These notes informed him on the politics of the Neuroscience Institute as well as what exactly the team achieved and planned to achieve.

He smiled, but didn't overdo it as he felt people began to watch intently. He looked up and waited for everyone to find their seat and take out what they needed in order to record what he was saying. He made sure to take off his lab coat as the room felt warm from all the bodies and the nerves he was experiencing.

He closed his eyes, took a breath, and steeled himself.

"Welcome to today's lecture," he said in English. "I'll give everyone a couple more seconds to get to their seat and take out their notes before I dive right into today's topic."

He waited a couple seconds before starting again.

"Memories," he said. "And what makes us, _us._ "

"Now, this will be slightly more informal than all the other lectures that I've done because there's no proper numbers involved when it comes to memories. Memories are intangible, meaning that they cannot be touched, but everyone has them. You, your friends, your family, your pets, everyone's brain is capable of making and storing memories. My colleagues and I have tried making a crack at it and we're making progress in applying statistics and numbers and a proper _science_ behind this process. As you already know, we here at Victor Chondria developed Amadeus, a personal AI of sorts with proper human emotions and memories, as well as the technique to recover lost memories using memory conversion. But that's beside the case."

He surfed through his brain, recalling the encounters he had with religious zealots who were against the use of memory conversion and Amadeus as it seemed to put the human race closer toward acting like God. He assumed that was the case on this world line as well.

"As you know, there's been controversy with memory conversion because of the fact that we're 'playing God' and ignoring our natural bounds as a species. There's also the argument that you are no longer yourself if you have to have your memories converted. The whole science behind memory conversion is that it takes the data in your brain and stores it as a bunch of 1s and 0s in some sort of server before being re-implanted into your mind as proper brain data again. Some claim that when your memories become 1s and 0s, those memories are no longer 'human'. They no longer make you, _you_. I'm here to tell you, that is not the case."

There was a little bit of murmuring in the hall, almost as if the students couldn't believe what Okabe had just said. It seemed like no amount of scientific curiosity could beat the doubt that people had in actually applying the science to real life.

"Memories _are_ what make us human. Our brains are more complex than you could possibly imagine, and we're trying to simplify it for us to better understand ourselves. That being said, these complex processes of recollection we call our memories are being studied and are being made into something that everyone can understand. We were able to simplify the process of regaining lost memories, we've made the greatest breakthrough as a race to combat diseases such as Alzheimer's and any sort of degenerative disease with the help of memory conversion. I'll get back to the 1s and 0s now. Simple enough, it's a way to be able to codify and allow for such a massive amount of data to be stored on computer servers just because of the mere size of the brain itself. If left without proper conversion, there'd be no one server to fit even the memories of a _single_ person. Nothing else is touched, no synapses are left unchecked, no memories changed to fit some sort of agenda. You are still you even if you have to have your memories converted. Down to the last atom."

He looked around the room and watched as students became more entranced with what he had to say instead of writing down in their notes. Just as he intended.

"Let me bring up a hypothetical."

* * *

Kurisu watched as her husband danced around the stage, spewing philosophical idea after philosophical idea. He had everyone in a trance, including her, and she couldn't help feel a sense of pride in being his wife.

"Another hypothetical," he continued. "One that isn't as realistic as the last, but I'm sure the laws of the universe can help apply to this as well."

"Let's say you are tortured to the point of brain-death. Now, this hypothetical victim was able to get his memories converted, but the last backup he had was 14 years prior to the point of brain death."

He began drawing a timeline on the chalkboard behind him.

"He's recovered," he said. "And his memories are reimplanted, giving his brain life once more. However, is the subject still themselves even if they have a whole 14 years missing from their life?"

Kurisu observed as everyone remained listening, waiting for an answer to be given by the professor.

"It wasn't a rhetorical question," he said. "I want someone to show me they understand what I'm trying to say."

Four hands were raised in the front of the classroom. Okabe pointed at a thin, glasses-wearing boy and waited for his answer.

"Well, they're his memories, so wouldn't they still make him the same person?"

Okabe sighed. It was apparent, that the young man gave out the wrong answer.

"Anyone else?"

It took a couple seconds before one hand went up. It belonged to a girl who seemed of smaller stature who sat just a row in front of Kurisu. Okabe pointed at her.

"Well no," she said and paused.

Kurisu recognized the voice.

Okabe signaled for her to keep explaining. "It's not the right answer if you can't explain it properly."

"That's a whole 14 years of memory that the subject loses permanently because of the fact that their memories were never backed up. They're the same person they were 14 years prior, but all the experiences that shaped them up to be the person they were just before brain-death are completely lost. This is a person that hasn't gone through the 14 years of life prior to memory conversion so they'd end up changing due to new experiences later in life that would replace the ones they're missing."

"Very good, Dr. Hiyajo," Okabe smiled.

Kurisu was taken aback. _Senpai?!_

"I do find it kind of unfair that I let you answer, but I guess I had to make do," Okabe addressed his attention to the rest of the class who were facing the tiny woman. "I'm sure I don't need to explain to you guys who Dr. Hiyajo is, right?"

Everyone was as taken aback as Kurisu. It seemed like no one expected Maho to be so small. She couldn't believe that Maho even sat in on Okabe's lectures because of the fact that these concepts were really easy to grasp.

Okabe put a giant squiggly line in between the 14 years to signify the loss in memories and drew a dotted line connecting the two fractured lines.

* * *

Okabe's lecture was seamless. He continued bouncing each idea he brought up, catching a flow that he never expected to get, but everything he learned from the Beta Attractor Field was able to apply perfectly to what he was trying to teach.

"I know this is seems more philosophical than it is scientific, but this is the dilemma that we neuroscientists face when it comes to cracking open the brain and understanding everything there is to it. It's been proven that memories can be affected by the laws of the universe and that we are able to come up with ways to ensure that we can study these things. Don't get me wrong, there's more to this field than just memories. At least, I hope you can understand that from previous lectures. However, this isn't to downplay what it means to study memories either. Even with the inventions we've created, there's still more to learn and I'm hoping that many of you will mature into excellent neuroscientists that help me, Dr. Okabe, and Dr. Hiyajo, as we crack the secrets of the mind."

Okabe walked back to his desk and ruffled through a couple more papers to make sure he covered everything. He was glad he knew what he did about the worldline he just entered and he was glad that his past self left a couple notes about their position on things in order to help guide him as he talked about the worldline.

He looked up once more to see the room still paying heavy attention to him.

He smiled. "That is all for today. For the foreseeable future, Dr. Okabe will be taking over my lectures for reasons that I'm not at liberty to disclose. If anyone has any questions, feel free to approach the front. If not, you are dismissed."

Okabe began packing his suitcase as he could hear the room begin to clear out. There was a lot of conversation going on, and he could tell that a lot of it was on the lecture that just took place. He could only breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that he didn't make a fool out of himself.

"Nice philosophical lecture you had there, Professor."

It was in Japanese.

Okabe looked up once more. He knew who the voice belonged to.

There, sitting at the front of the stage was a girl who looked no more than 9, but Okabe knew better by then. A good indicator that she wasn't in fact 9 years old was the fact that she had a gray streak splitting the back of her head full of black hair.

"I'm glad you liked it, Doctor," Okabe smiled. "I didn't expect to see you in today's lecture."

"I had some free time so I decided to stop by for a little bit," the grown woman said. "You certainly have a knack for presentation."

All Okabe could do without drawing attention to himself was laugh. He didn't know just how crucial of a role Maho played on his personal life so he couldn't exactly let her in on the fact that he lost his memories as easily as he did Daru and Kurisu.

"So, we're friends aren't we?" Maho said. "Why can't you continue lecturing? You seem in excellent health and I haven't heard of you encountering any legal trouble. You taking a vacation? Or are you finally going to help me with the Valkyrie project you had planned with me way-back-when?"

 _She's in Valkyrie?_ Okabe couldn't help asking himself.

"Project...?" he couldn't play along considering she never named the project.

"The one with developing a means to counter the Committee's EM waves in their attempt to control the minds affected by these wave blasts," she said. "I know you're a busy man being the leader of Valkyrie and all, but it's hard to develop this technology without you since you have a lot of know-how in these things."

Okabe internally quivered. He couldn't believe the types of things that the evil organization of this world was trying to do in gaining power.

He looked just a little past Maho and saw Kurisu coming down the steps of the lecture hall at a brisk pace. The lecture hall itself was empty, which surprised Okabe because he could have sworn he was going to get at least a couple questions.

Kurisu walked up to Maho, "Senpai! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Well neither did your husband," Maho said to Kurisu. "We were just talking about why you were supposed to be taking over for him."

Kurisu froze and looked at Okabe. He knew he wasn't going to get away with much nor gain anything out of lying to someone whom he assumed to be a high-ranking member of his former self's resistance. He nodded.

"Senpai..." Kurisu said. "I-I don't exactly know how to word this properly..."

Kurisu looked at Okabe for help. Okabe sighed, allowing Maho to turn to him.

"What's going on?"

"Maho," Okabe started. "I had a rather extreme episode of Reading Steiner. I hope my past self was able to disclose just what that is?"

Maho slowly nodded.

"I'm not the same man who worked with you all these years," he remained blunt. "I come from a world line that endured 20 years of World War III."

"What...?"

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's another character introduction done. I hope you guys were able to enjoy the lecture. I know, it's a lot of boring scientific crap, but I hope you realize just how important of a step it was for Okabe to talk about what he did. I'm sorry that the wait between chapters is long, but I can't help it with all the other responsibilities I have to juggle. Thank you to everyone who is sticking through this whole ordeal with me. I hope that I don't disappoint any of you in the end. I appreciate any review you can give, any favorite you award, anything. As long as I have people who I know read the kind of stuff I produce will mean that I won't stop until I get the ending you guys deserve. Of course, Chapter 10 will be quite a long wait, but I know you guys can handle it. I hope you found the wait for this chapter worth it in the end.**

 **Cheers~ Quil**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wowie, I didn't think I'd be able to get this long a chapter out. Oh well, here it is!**

* * *

 _ **Date: October 14, 2020**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)**_

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 16 years, 1 month.**_

"Okabe!"

Maho ran over to her colleague who had just collapsed over the table just behind her.

They were in the classified room of the Neuroscience Insitute, finalizing paperwork for what to present to ATF for the Summer of 2021. They were just about set to offically announce Amadeus, a project that took a lot of time because of the total lack of funding. It wasn't until the success of the Memory Conversion Machine that the university finally allowed for the project to be paid for and ever since then, advances in cracking the secrets to how the A.I worked came at a breakneck pace. The only reason why this was so was because of the man who was now slumped over the table, speaking unintelligibly.

"Okabe!" Maho came behind the man. "Are you okay?"

She could hear Okabe hyperventilating, almost as if he was trying to suppress a scream. She was at a loss for words. Not a moment prior, Okabe was cheerfully bantering with her as they usually did, but now he had been reduced to a mess in a matter of seconds. She didn't know if she said something to trigger the PTSD he had told her about. Okabe only ever told her that he had PTSD, but not what for, and she never pried deeper into it because she didn't want to force him to open up about anything traumatic for his sake.

Maho placed her hand on his back, a move she instantly came to regret. Almost as if he became hypersensitive to his surroundings, Okabe whipped around, grabbed her hand, and twisted it painfully. Maho could only let out a scream in shock and pain as it felt like he could have torn her arm in half if he needed to.

He let go, and kicked her back into the table. She hit the table hard, causing her to crumple over from the pain that was shooting up her back. Papers flew all around, covering the whimpering scientist. She didn't know what to do. She had no access to her PhoneDroid since the nature of the classified materials they had allowed no one to bring phones into the room, and Okabe was clearly superior in strength.

"Okabe..." she forced out of her throat. "Please...don't"

Tears made their way out of the 30 year old as her back was pulsating in pain. She felt certain that she was going to die, that for some reason, her colleague would murder her in cold blood right there. She was terrified. This wasn't the same man she was working with moments prior. Maho looked up at her attacker, seeing his eyes for the first time. They were wide in shock and fear.

"Maho...?" he muttered before realizing what he had just done. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you. I'm so sorry."

He was apologizing vehemently as he approached the scared scientist. She could only whimper. She was certain that Okabe was playing some sort of cruel game, that he was doing this act to make her suffer for it, that the Committee had somehow broken through and taken control of him. She closed her eyes as Okabe kneeled down to her, she didn't want to see his face. She braced her body as well, in wait for whatever Okabe was going to do to her next.

Instead, Maho could feel the ruffling of papers against her body as the weight from the stacks that flew all over her was being cleared up. She opened her eyes to see Okabe picking up all the paper, almost as if he hadn't just assaulted her moments prior. She was unsure what to think. She didn't know for a fact what Okabe was planning, but he wasn't hurting her anymore. She watched him closely from her spot on the ground, trying to sense what was going on. She noticed his eyes, a set of eyes that seemed like they belonged to someone who had lived a long life. Granted, Okabe already seemed like that, but this set of eyes had experienced a trauma unknown to her, almost as if he went away for many years in the span of a couple seconds.

Okabe finished cleaning the papers off the ground and her body and extended his hand out to her. She flinched, not expecting Okabe to do so, but she shook it off and hesitantly took it. Pain shot up her back as she stood, causing her to hiss through clenched teeth. She wanted to fall limp, but Okabe's strong grip didn't allow her to.

"The pain will subside much quicker if you stand up," he said. "It'll allow the blood to flow more quickly."

There was a vague maturity to him that was absent in all the years she had known him. Even as the leader of Valkyrie, Okabe still seemed like a child to her despite the 3 year age difference. She was at a loss for words, as if this man wasn't the man she had known all this time.

"Maho," he said as he got her to stand straight up. "I just have a couple questions."

"You know," she winced. "I have many more to ask _you_."

"Did Y2K ever happen?"

His sudden question caught her well off-guard.

"What? You mean that thing with the computers that was supposed to happen in 2000? Okabe, nothing happened, don't you remember?"

"Is Kurisu alive?"

"What kind of question is that? She just left the room a couple minutes ago!"

Maho could see more and more relief flood over Okabe's face as if his life depended on her answers.

"Did we just finish the Amadeus project?"

"Yes! We were going to present it to ATF next year! Okabe, what happened!?"

Okabe sighed in relief, fell back onto the table he had previously collapsed on, and put his hand to cover his face before softly chuckling. "I did it."

Maho could see a tear roll down Okabe's cheek from under his hand.

"Okabe..." she softly said as she carefully approached him and placed a hand on him. "What happened?"

Her colleague slowly lifted his hand, still looking at the ceiling. His eyes were red and she could see tears welling up in them. Those eyes, those eyes that seemed to have seen hell itself. They spoke to her, they spoke to her better than any scientist could. Okabe's eyes showed her a world she had never known, but that world was hidden under lock and key by the man that owned them.

He looked at her, and she could feel that world begin to unlock itself to her.

"Maho," he said. "I think it's time you learned the truth about what I've been through. It'll help explain what just happened. We need Kurisu in here too. She needs to know I just got through a Reading Steiner episode."

"Reading...Steiner?"

* * *

Okabe was guided through the campus of Victor Chondria, passing by classrooms, lecture halls, dormitories, and the quad area before being placed in front of the doors of the Neuroscience Institute. It was an unassuming building, donning the look of most others, being tall and everything. It was a given considering just how much success emanated from the building what with the work that the three scientists currently walking through the doors did.

They entered, passing by a lady at the front desk who had greeted the group warmly without much of a thought. They went down the decorative hall that held all the awards held by past scientists, pictures, and general accolades that the Neuroscience Institute produced. Maho pushed Okabe into the first hall which held all the elevators and she pushed the button to go down. It only took a couple seconds before an empty elevator arrived, prompting Maho to usher both Okabe and Kurisu in as quickly as she could.

They were all silent as they went down to the basement floor. Okabe stood behind Maho so he couldn't exactly read any expression on her face. He looked over at Kurisu who was also at a loss for what to say.

"So," he said trying to break the ice. "It's been a nice day today, hasn't it?"

"Shut it."

Maho's response was quick and cold. She was nothing like the laid-back woman that was talking to him about his lecture before he had to admit to her that he knew nothing of their relationship in this world line. He could only hope that it was somewhat similar to the relationship he built with her on the Beta Attractor Field. A relationship out of respect and a mutual understanding that they were outmatched by the genius that was Kurisu. The genius in question had a worried look on her face as Okabe was sure she didn't know how to process the seeming hostility that Maho projected into her voice.

The elevator stopped and the double-doors opened to a long hall which was being watched by a single armed security officer. He seemed to match Okabe in build, but he looked slighly older as his gray hairs could be seen poking out of his cap. His friendly face was matched with the smile that he flashed at the three as Maho guided them out.

"Phones please," he said apologetically.

Maho and Kurisu took out their PhoneDroids, prompting Okabe to do the same with his. He smiled warmly at the girls as they placed their phones in the bin, but he didn't exactly do the same with Okabe, opting to remain neutral as he walked past.

"I can't help but feel that the guard doesn't like me as much as you two," he whispered to Kurisu.

"It's because you're not a girl," Kurisu whispered back. "He's a harmless man who enjoys the company of women more than men."

"Duly noted..." Okabe couldn't help but feel suspicious about the guard but he shook it off as Maho led the trio deeper down the hall.

They finally came to a stop on the final door on the right side of the expansive hall. Maho swiped her ID on the reader then lowered her eye down to have it scanned, allowing for the doors to fly open in response. All three then walked in, inhabiting the lab as the lights began brightening up because of the fact that someone entered.

Despite being a lab, it was surprisingly empty of any sort of identifying details to let the bystander know that it was, in fact, a lab. There were two tables, one was set up right next to the opaque glass window while another was sitting in the center of the lab. Both tables were clear of any and all materials, leaving them naked to Okabe as he was always used to seeing something on any sort of table whether it be Steins Gate or the Beta Attractor Field.

Maho grabbed a seat at the table. Given her height, she had to jump onto it rather than just be able to lean into a sitting position. Okabe and Kurisu found their seat at the opposite side of the room, on another table just across from the woman who was seemingly ready to interrogate them.

"When did it happen?"

Maho's question was cold and almost cutting.

Kurisu looked at Okabe, but Okabe felt for a fact that he'd be able to explain himself properly and prove himself to Maho the same way he was somehow able to prove himself to Kurisu.

"Two nights ago," he said. "It was two nights ago."

Maho's brow remained furrowed as she continued to examine him. All Okabe could do was stand as proud and confident as he could while Maho continously eyed him. At the very least, Maho seemed calm about it and he thought he'd have a better time trying to explain to her than he did with Kurisu. But he knew he couldn't do it without the help of someone who knew her just as well as he did. He waited.

"Haha," he started laughing. "Hahaha..."

Maho's eyes widened slightly, not expecting him to say anything. Kurisu also eyed him, wondering just what was happening.

"FU-HAHAHAHAHAA" Okabe-no-Hououin Kyouma burst out cackling. Maho and Kurisu both flinched. "You're examining my body like you're investigating a scientific specimen, loli! I understand just how rare a mind like my own is, but you're too inconspicuous with your stares!"

"Now just who are-" Maho tried saying.

"Assistant!" Kyouma cut her off. "Quit making yourself useless and assist me, the great mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma, for once!"

He pointed his left finger at Kurisu while keeping his body opened toward Maho. Kurisu's surprised look quickly turned to one of anger.

"Okarin," she said. "Now's not the time-"

"Wrong!" Kyouma responded. "It's Hououin Kyouma!"

"Oka-"

"Nope!"

"Ok-"

"Not my name!"

"O-"

"Hououin Kyouma!"

Kyouma watched as Kurisu got angrier and angrier each time she was interrupted. He swore, he could see steam coming out of her ears just from how upset he had made her with his insistence on calling him his proper name. He plugged his finger into his ear, pretending like he had a bluetooth earphone on him.

"It's me," he said. "It seems like the Organization has cast an amnesic cloud over the United States. My own assistant can't even remember my proper name. Reroute all research to Japan and prepare my stealth plane for quick exit. Before any of that is done, re-allocate all my assets to-"

The mad scientist got interrupted by a hard elbow to the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Maho then stomped him down with her hard-soled shoes until he was flat. Each hit whipped her labcoat upward just from the sheer force she was exerting into her kicks. Her hair whipped up and about, but it always remained neat and orderly. She stomped one last time, keeping her foot on the defeated man and crossed her arms again.

"Either you've changed and aren't taking this as seriously as you should," she said. "Or you haven't and you're just trying to play a cruel elaborate prank. Either way, this beating is justified. Now, who are you?"

"Fufufu," Kyouma could barely laugh. "Who knew such a small body could hold so much pent up aggression?"

Maho clicked her tongue before stomping on Kyouma again. "Why is it impossible for you to answer such a simple question!?"

Kyouma chuckled again, causing Maho to get ready to stomp again. Before she could decide to lower her foot with force, Kurisu had interrupted her, presumably because she hated seeing the mad scientist get hurt.

"Senpai!" she said. "It's true. He's changed. But the idiot is still Okabe Rintaro. He's still the idiotic Hououin Kyouma who we've learned to work with, but he's just missing his memories."

Maho turned her attention to Kurisu. "What's the gap?"

"Huh?"

"What's the gap between memories that align with our own and his memories? When he came back from Gamma, the gap was only one second for us. What is it this time?"

Kurisu hesitated. It was clear that she didn't want to admit to how far back Okabe's memories has aligned with their own.

"Spit it out, Assistant!" Kyouma said from under Maho. "You've made it this far."

"Call me Assistant again and I'll be the one doing the kicking," Kurisu snapped back at him before turning to Maho. "Well, you see here, Senpai..."

Maho listened with intent, waiting to hear Kurisu's revelation. Her face remained sharp, like an astute scientist making an observation.

"His memories haven't aligned with ours for 26 years."

Maho stepped back in shock, not knowing how to take the news. Kyouma felt the pressure ease on his back as the small woman grasped for a table in order to get some sort of support.

"26 years? What?"

Kyouma watched as Maho tried piecing together the information she received. Her fists were clenched as she leaned on the table, facing away from both him and Kurisu. She was visibly shaking. Kyouma knew he couldn't allow that to happen.

"Loli!" he yelled. "Don't you dare be upset over my situation! I still need you so that I may finally overthrow the world's ruling structure!"

"Me being upset over _your_ situation?" he heard Maho say shakily before she turned. "I'm upset over the fact that I lost a dear friend of mine to you!"

 _Not this again,_ Okabe thought.

"Lab Member #009!" Kyouma countered. " _I_ am your boss! The great Hououin Kyouma needs no friends, just assistants!"

His remark caught Maho off-guard as it should have. He never knew if he set any sort of number for Maho, but he hoped that there was some sort of similarity in the number systems of the Future Gadget Labs from both the Beta and Steins Gate worldlines. Given her reaction, Kyouma could only guess that he got the number right. Kyouma watched as Maho gathered herself from the table, her head being down the entire time. He watched as she shuffled to his spot, before shoving him once. It wasn't a hard shove, but he was pushed back a step.

"He gave you notes about me, didn't he?" she said quietly.

At this point, Okabe reigned in Hououin Kyouma as he felt he was finally able to plant seeds of trust in Maho. He put his finger up to Kurisu who was beginning to make her way between the two, prompting her to stay put and watch. He closed the gap and embraced the woman.

"No amount of notes can replace the friendship we had on the world I came from, Salieri." Okabe whispered just for her to hear.

Maho shivered in his arms, recognizing the importance the name had to her. It was how she compared herself to Kurisu. Kurisu was the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Maho was the one who Mozart outperformed in every way just because of talent, Antonio Salieri. Only, in this worldline, Maho never shared that fact with anyone else, choosing to keep it all a secret because she never wanted Kurisu or anyone to pity her.

Okabe could feel Maho slowly snake her arms around him and hug him in return. Her shaking calmed down and her breathing slowed from the raggedness it had been when he first embraced her. They finally split, Maho having some redness in her eyes, but she was smiling.

"You could have laid off the Hououin Kyouma act for a little bit," she said. "All I needed was those words."

"The Hououin Kyouma act wasn't for me," Okabe admitted. "It was to get that woman over there to speak up and be able to freely talk about it without wanting to hurt me."

As soon as the sentence was completed, Okabe felt something hard hit his head, knocking him to the ground. As he fell, he saw a high-heel shoe fall with him. It was as if it was all in slow motion before he hit the ground with his shoulder.

"Your Hououin Kyouma act made me want to hurt you even more," he heard Kurisu say.

Okabe popped back up rubbing his head. He sheepily smiled at Kurisu who was walking in his direction to grab her shoe.

"You two still have that dynamic even if you're a different person," Maho said. "It's almost like you never changed."

"What can I say?" Okabe shrugged his shoulders. "The other version of me went through just as bad of a hell as I did. Similar experiences shape similar mindsets I suppose."

"And both of you have been rewarded with a world that we all get an equal chance at."

Kurisu wrapped her arms around Okabe from behind as she said her statement. The move caught Okabe off-guard, causing him to flinch a bit, but he placed his hands on Kurisu's to show his care for her. Maho couldn't help smiling and patting Okabe on the cheek before making her way to the door.

"That was all," she said. "Thank you for filling me in on the situation even though it seemed like there was no intent to do so. Would you like to join me on a tour of the campus before you head back to the lecture hall? It's a good way to kill time before your next lecture."

Okabe and Kurisu looked at each other, then they looked at Maho. "Sure, why not."

The couple followed the small woman out of the lab, the door sliding closed behind them automatically. They walked down the long hallway, it seemed empty but Maho reassured Okabe that there was always people working behind each window, but it didn't show because of the classified nature of what they were doing their work on. They walked up to the security guard who was handling their phones and requested them back.

"Oh," the security guard said as he handed Okabe his phone. "Your phone was ringing incessantly while I had it, it seemed like there was something important that you were supposed to deal with before handing it to me."

The guard smiled at Okabe warmly before ushering him off and handing the two others their phones. Okabe checked his phone and saw 6 missed calls and 10 text messages from Daru. Okabe frowned as he read the messages.

 _"Problem."_

 _"Call me as soon as you can."_

 _"Mission in jeopardy."_

 _"Okarin I really need you to answer the phone."_

 _"Where are you?"_

 _"Okarin!"_

 _"We were compromised."_

 _"I need you to call me."_

 _"America is the problem."_

 _"I'll stay awake until you call back."_

"Maho," Okabe started speaking in Japanese out of habit. "Can I take my phone back into that lab room we were just in?"

Maho frowned and responded in the same language. "Well, there's no classified information, so I wouldn't see the problem.

Maho looked at the security guard who was eyeing Okabe with suspicion and spoke in English. "Let him take his phone down the hall."

"As you wish, Director," the security guard obliged.

As soon as he got the okay, Okabe dashed past the two girls, swiped his card, scanned his eye, and entered the room. Almost immediately after, the two others showed up, panting and gasping for air.

"What the hell, Okarin?"

Okabe ignored Kurisu and proceeded to dial Daru. His texts were ominous enough, but considering the fact that he made them vague caused an even deeper pit in his gut to form. The phone rang continously for what seemed like an eternity before Daru finally picked up.

"Okarin, what the hell man," he said immediately. "I really need you to answer quickly in situations like this."

"Sorry," Okabe responded. "I had to give my phone up at the door, but I was able to get it back. What's the problem?"

"We're not in good shape," Daru said. "Three agents we sent to extract New Encephalitis patients in Los Angeles were already tagged by the Committee. They were waiting for them at the door. The patients weren't freed and our guys got really messed up. I don't kno-"

"Breathe, Daru," Okabe tried calming down the rambling hacker. "Were our agents able to get out?"

"Yeah," Daru said. "But it's a given that the Committee knows about the importance of the New Encephalitis cases considering our involvement in it. Okarin, this isn't good. I picked up their comms and it looks like they're going to triple security there now and make it harder for us to extract them."

"We'll worry about that in time," Okabe responded calmly. "What about the other patients, were they taken out?"

"Yeah, but it's that last hospital that's a problem for us."

"Alright, I'll come up with something. Be on standby and I'll relay the plan to you."

"Okay. I'm trusting you."

"And that trust is well-placed. Take care, brother."

"You too, pal."

Okarin hung up and faced the two women who had heard the entire conversation unfold. "Looks like we have a job to do ladies."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there's a proper introduction to Maho with some Kyouma action embedded in there. I'm sorry that it seems like the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but i'm slowing it down for the sake of building up the characters and getting the world straight before I dive right in. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As you can tell, the next couple chapters are going to get pretty juicy in terms of action, but I'll make sure to give you those small character moments here and then.**

 **I honestly love you guys. It warms my heart to see people who are actually willing to take time out of their day to read what I put out. I hope I'm not letting any of you down in any way and, if I am, that you let me know so that I can fix whatever I'm doing wrong. It's a pleasure to write this story and I do it because I know people are going to read it. So thank you for giving me purpose to write.**

 **Love,**

 **Quil~**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Just a short _DISCLAIMER_ before this chapter starts. If you are uncomfortable with any content regarding sexual assault, I'd suggest you skip this flashback as it goes in-depth to what happened with Kurisu in 2031. This story is M-rated for a reason. I tried playing around with making the whole encounter T-Rated, but it ended up losing some of that cruelty that was needed to truly convey Kurisu's situation. I'm sorry for being so fickle on how to rate this story, but I promise now that it'll stay M-rated.**

* * *

 _ **Date: August 3, 2031**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)**_

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 5 years, 3 months, 11 days.**_

"Come here, you fucking bitch!"

Kurisu tried so hard to run, taking all the back-alleys possible to shake her chasers, but she was never capable of losing them. It was early in the morning, Akihabara was empty to the point that it was almost dead, but Kurisu needed to get to ATF to set up for her seminar. She never thought her morning would be interrupted by vile men who decided to chase her out of nowhere. She held her documents in her hands and ran as fast as she could through the empty lots, choosing to go past a taped-off area and try to shake them off, but they always stayed a couple steps behind her no matter how hard she tried. She whipped out her phone mid-sprint, dialing Okabe's number in hopes that he could do something to help. She wasn't sure if these men were a part of the Committee and didn't want the police involved in such matters. Her husband was the only person she could trust.

The phone rang twice. "Hello?"

The voice on the other side was deep and obviously sounded like it belonged to someone who had just woken up.

"Phoenix! I'm in trouble!"

She said his codename in hopes of scaring off the men, but they never turned tail. The Phoenix was a very well-known name within the Committee. Whenever Daru hacked into their mailing systems, they always talked about staying on their toes for The Phoenix. Okabe was The Phoenix. He was the thorn in the Committee's side. He emboldened them as much as he terrified them, but the men chasing her chased her with the same energy they had before. Okabe's voice perked up.

"Give me your location, Chris."

Kurisu's codename. She knew Okabe couldn't let slip that The Phoenix knew her personally. She ran toward an old building that was seemingly abandoned after the Akiba earthquake. It was an old cinema.

"I'm-"

She tripped as she was trying to enter, knocking the phone and her papers out of her hands. She tried getting back up, but one of the men grabbed her before she could, roughly pulling her back toward him. She tried getting out of his grip, but then the two others chasing her surrounded her as well.

"Good idea, choosing this place," the man grabbing her said. "It's nice, out of the way, and no one will be able to hear you scream."

His stench of alcohol and horrible body odor reached her nose, making her tear up from just how much of an assault his smell posed on her synapses. The man had his arms wrapped around Kurisu's body, pinning her arms under him and not allowing her any chance to move. She resisted as best she could, jumping and shaking violently to try and break free, but he had a strong grip on her.

"Let. Go. Of. Me!"

"Kurisu?" Okabe's voice on the phone broke down into total panic. "Kurisu!?"

One of the men trudged over to the phone that was on the floor with Okabe's picture on it. He picked it up and examined it before putting it up to his ear so that he could speak to Okabe.

"Don't worry," he said mockingly. "Your friend's safe."

He then threw the phone to the ground and stomped on it, causing Kurisu to freeze in fear. Her connection to Okabe was severed. The act only served to encouraged her struggle, causing the man to accidentally let go of her. She fell to the ground and tried getting up quickly to run, but she was brought down by a hard kick to the ribs. The third man was waiting for her to break free and took his chance to subdue her. The kick took all the air out of her body, causing her to roll over and try to get air back in. Tears made their way out of her eyes from the pain in her abdomen.

Two of the men grabbed her arms and dragged her into the cinema. She could only groan in pain as she attempted to recover from the kick that brought her down. The men were talking enthusiastically about what they were planning on doing to her. The vile things they said confirmed that they weren't a part of the Committee, they were just outcasts who should never belong in a civilized society.

She felt them pick her up and sit her down on a chair, pinning her arms to the back of it. The third man made his way behind her and tied her hands together, not giving her any chance to use them. She began kicking out, hitting the two men in front of her as hard she can, but they never budged. One of them growled and slapped her across the face with the back of his free hand.

"Stupid whore."

She felt the third man vacate his presence from behind her and bring her legs together so that he could tie them up too.

"You bastards!" she snapped at them. "Let go of me!"

The room was dark. Kurisu could only make out general details surrounding their bodies, but she couldn't see their faces. They were all thin, no surprise because of the fact that they kept up with her. One of the men pulled out a knife, making Kurisu's eyes widen.

"You have no say in that, dearie," the man with the knife said before approaching her.

She closed her eyes. "Please don't hurt me. I'm begging you."

She felt the cold hard steel of the blade touch against her throat, causing her to freeze. "Look at me."

She obliged, slowly turning to face him. The face she saw was one of pure evil. His face donned a contorted smile, his eyes wide with the wickedness that emanated from them. He was missing teeth, making his appearance even more undesirable to her. In one quick moment, she felt the knife retract itself from her throat before she felt a slash across her chest, tearing her shirt in the process. It was a button down dress-shirt, and it came undone by the slash of a knife. She could feel her skin break and blood begin to slowly seep into the rest of her shirt. The cut wasn't too deep, but it put her in a lot of pain. She cried out.

One of the other men reached for her chest, tearing the shirt in two from the hole in the fabric and exposing her black bra.

"Please!" she cried. "Someone help me!"

She was screaming for someone to help before she got a hard slap to the face again by the same man that slapped her before. "Shut up, whore!"

The man that exposed her chest began grabbing her breasts roughly, pushing the bra to the side to play with them.

"I would have appreciated bigger, but I guess I'll have to make do with what we got here."

He unbuckled his pants and stuck his free hand down them. The third man knelt down, spreading her thighs and slowly creeping his hand up her skirt toward her entrance. Tears were flowing freely out of her eyes. Sobs intermingled her moans of pain as all three men violated her. She was helpless. All she could do was cry as she felt one man's hand creep slowly up her thigh toward her sex, one man playing with her breasts and getting off to it, and the other having fun behind her by making tiny cuts on her body that she could hardly feel over the other two groping her and sucked on her wounds.

"Kurisu?!" she heard out of nowhere.

All three men froze from their spots and quickly switched their attention from her toward the entrance to the cinema.

"Kurisu, are you in here!?"

It was Okabe's voice.

"Okarin!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Help me!"

She could hear a hurried pair of footsteps approach her spot. The three men abandoned their position around her and went to go check who was annoying them. However, Okabe closed the distance on them before they could get out of their spot.

There he was, long hair flying as he ran at full speed to her spot. His lab coat billowed in the wind he created before he slammed into the first person in front of him at full force with his shoulder, knocking him down easily.

The other two, caught by surprise, jumped back quickly and began circling Okabe before he could close the distance on them as well. He carefully eyed both of them as they walked around them, one with a knife in hand and the other cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"Who are you people?" he said. "What do you want with my wife?"

"I don't think the answer matters if you'll be dead before you hear it!"

The man with the knife charged Okabe, but her husband easily dodged the first swipe, grabbed the man's hand as he went around for the second swipe, and punched through his elbow, bending it backwards and effectively breaking it. The man screamed in pain before Okabe elbowed him in the face, knocking him out onto the floor.

The last man stood before Okabe. He was scared to face him and wanted to run away, but Okabe had the only exit blocked. The man, the one responsible for groping her breasts, fell to his knees and bowed his head toward Okabe.

"Please don't hurt me! I apologize for everything I've done!"

Okabe slowly approached the man who had no intention of doing anything against him. The man shook as he could hear Okabe's footsteps get closer and closer to him, but Okabe never broke stride.

"Apology noted."

Not giving him a second to react, Okabe viciously kicked his heel into the back of the man's head, forcing his face to hit the floor hard. The man slumped to the ground. Okabe then walked over to the first man who he had run into. He was still awake, but air had rushed out of his body from the sudden impact. Okabe picked up the man's leg and rammed his knee into it, practically snapping the man's leg in half. The man screamed in immense pain before Okabe angrily and silently stomped him into unconsciousness.

"Okarin!" Kurisu cried out as he finished. "Okarin!"

She began sobbing uncontrollably. When she lost all hope in staying alive, when she cried out for help, her knight in shining armor came at her call. He ran to her and began untying her.

"Kurisu, I'm so sorry." he said. "I should have walked with you. This was all my fault."

He untied her feet and made his way to her hands. However, he was so focused on getting her out that he never noticed just what the men had done to her. He saw her exposed, he saw the bruises on her cheek, but the sight that scared him most was the cuts that were all over her arms.

"Oh my God," he gasped. "Kurisu..."

He quickly made his way behind her and untied her arms from the seat. Kurisu jumped out of her seat and into Okabe's arms, crying the whole way. She sobbed into his shirt, drenching it quickly in both blood and tears.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

She couldn't form many words for the gratefulness she could feel toward Okabe. Okabe broke the hug so that he could examine her.

"The cuts look superficial. I should be able to bandage them up at home," he said. "Do you think you need to go to the hospital for anything?"

Kurisu shook her head, sniffling as she tried regaining composure.

"Good," he said softly. "Let's head home then, shall we?"

Okabe draped his lab coat over her, covering up her cuts and her partially naked body from the public view. She huddled close to him and he held her, not allowing her to leave his side. This was what it meant to be loved. They walked together out of the cinema, not allowing anything to get between them. Even though she was violated, she was happy that her Okarin saved her in the end.

* * *

"So, what do we do?"

Kurisu gazed questioningly at Okabe, her violet eyes shining radiantly under her glasses. The trio made their way back to the couple's home, opting to cancel Okabe's lecture for the rest of the day in order to address the situation they were in with total seriousness. Okabe had ditched his labcoat, rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, and took off his red necktie. It was his usual ritual whenever he began to focus that he take off anything that hindered him and rolled up his sleeves so that he could keep cool. He brought the ritual over from the constant wartime of the Beta Attractor Field and never seemed to be able to get rid of it. He looked at Kurisu and Maho, both women taking a seat on the couch in the living room. The size difference betweeen both of them was noticeable. Both of them had their backs on the couch, but only Kurisu's feet were able to touch the ground. Maho seemed to be at peace with the fact that she couldn't touch the floor.

He breathed in and closed his eyes, imagining the situation as it played out and thinking of the best way to handle it. He had been boots-on-the-ground several times on extraction and escort missions in World War III, but the big problem for him to face was adapting that knowledge to the Steins Gate world line. He didn't have the use of soldiers, and the agents he currently had were tagged, making them unable to use for ground missions anymore. Killing was now nowhere near the table, such a thought about using that method was to be left behind on that lawless world.

He opened his eyes once more and eyed Maho's university tag. The idea he had hit him like a truck going in at full force as he continued looking at Maho's tag. He began chuckling.

"So that's what I'll do."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Maho furrowed her brow.

"How much of a recognizable face do I have in the science world?"

It was a questioned aimed at both of them. Maho leaned forward, her feet hitting the ground at the same time as the excess cloth on her obviously oversized labcoat. It was the same as it was on the Beta Attractor Field, she just never seemed to care about her looks as long as it didn't get in the way of her research and development. Kurisu's eyes narrowed to slits, showing obvious distaste with whatever Okabe may have been thinking.

"Don't tell me you plan on going in there by yourself."

Okabe leaned back into the wall, getting himself comfortable so that he could begin to explain just what he planned to do.

"Answer the question."

"Wha-"

"You're not," Maho interrupted Kurisu. "For the most part, you've stayed behind the scenes, so your contributions to our work has been unknown to everyone except our circle in the Neuroscience Institute."

"And that circle includes..."

"You, me, Kurisu, Dr. Leskinen, and Dr. Reyes."

Hearing the last two names together sent a cold shiver down Okabe's spine. His eyes widened as images flashed before his eyes. Memories of the Beta Attractor Field began flooding into his head, filling his synapses with images of death, decay, and brutality. At the center of it all were Reyes and Leskinen. Two scientists working for opposing teams behind the scenes, both of them having obviously nefarious goals for the time machine race, both of them equally responsible for the pain and suffering his friends had to experience in wartime and in peacetime before war broke out. Images of Kagari being strapped to that blasted chair by Reyes, of Leskinen torturing him for information, of the general wrongs the pair committed against him began making their way into his head, blocking all conscious thought. The sight of the two women began morphing before him. What was once the short, black-haired scientist, was now the tall blonde menace that was Alexis Leskinen. His wife, with her hair tied neatly in a ponytail and her glasses resting on her nose, began morphing into Judy Reyes, the maniacal woman who could rival Hououin Kyouma in insanity.

"No, no, no, no," Okabe quickly caught on to what was happening to him. "This isn't real."

"Lintahlo?"

Okabe quickly fished his hand into his pocket, trying to grab the bottle that held his Reading Steiner pills. He had his eyes shut the entire way as he grasped the capsule and pulled it out quickly. He popped open the top and placed one sole, blue, capsule on his palm before slamming it into his mouth. He swallowed as soon as he could, feeling the pill make its way down his esophagus. He opened his eyes, but the two sources of terror were still in their spots, sporting a concerned look on their faces.

"Are you okay, Lintahlo?" Leskinen asked.

"Get away from me!" Okabe screamed, causing Reyes to grab Leskinen and guide him away. "Just stay the hell away from me!"

He was in disbelief. The world line could not have shifted to Beta. Yet, he didn't know why he was experiencing such vivid visions, even less why he was actually able to hear Leskinen's voice and dialect very clearly. Okabe collapsed onto his knees closing his eyes shut, hoping against all hope that the pills just took a while to act on his mind. All he could hear were the screams of the countless innocents who were forced to suffer a war that they should have never gone through. They years he spent stuck in the time machine, the wailing of Suzuha and Mayuri as they slowly went insane from the isolation. He never wanted to put the girls through that. He began hyperventilating.

Then, just as suddenly as his memories began appearing, they flowed out of his head like water. The muscles which had tensed up all over his body began relaxing themselves and he could feel himself come out of the shell he had built. He looked up at where the two visions once were and in their place were Maho and Kurisu, both looking equally as worried and shocked as the visions that replaced them for the time being. Kurisu had a hand on Maho's shoulder, both keeping a careful distance against the man who just had an outburst against them.

Okabe sighed and slumped back against the wall behind him. Kurisu broke away from Maho and hurriedly made her way toward Okabe who had his hands covering his eyes. She kneeled down next to him, and pried his hands away from his face.

"Hey, Okarin," she said as their eyes made contact. "I'm here. You're not alone anymore."

"Kurisu..."

Okabe could only manage uttering her name before resting his head on her, forcing her to sit down with him. She gently caressed his hair, humming to make her chest vibrate and soothe Okabe as he had his head placed on it.

"What happened? Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Maho was still there and she was even more worried than before. It was as if she wouldn't be able to live with herself for being the cause of Okabe's panic attack, and even less so for seeing him crumple the way he did just now.

"No, you're fine Maho," Okabe said. "It's just..."

Even thinking about the two names in combination sickened him. He could handle one or the other, but never having both at the same time.

"Dr. Leskinen was an immoral person from the world line Okarin came from," Kurisu finished for him. "He caused a lot of suffering for him."

"Not just him," Okabe shivered. "Reyes was so much worse on so many levels."

Maho gasped. "I'm so sorry Okabe, had I known-"

"You're fine," Okabe softly said. "I didn't expect myself to react the way I did. But it is what it is. There's no telling that they're the same people on this world line anyway."

Okabe took his head off of Kurisu, flashed her an appreciative smile, then cleared his throat.

"Back to the matter at hand, ladies."

He got up, helping Kurisu to her feet as well. The trio made their way back to their former positions, Okabe choosing to lean on the wall for support while Maho and Kurisu took their seat on the plush leather couch.

"In any case," Maho continued from where she was left off. "You wouldn't have to be worried about being recognized in any setting unless it's among friends."

Okabe rifled through his memories on the Beta Attractor Field. He locked onto the memory he had in the first couple months after he had murdered Kurisu. At the time, when he was acting as a test subject for Leskinen and Maho by interacting with Amadeus, he kept reporting every once in a while in a building whose construction could never be complete because of the fact that World War III started. He locked onto that idea and started to run with it, hoping that such a building existed on the Steins Gate world line.

"Was there ever a Neuroscience Institute built in Wako City?"

It was the grounds that Maho and Dr. Leskinen resided in during their stay in Japan for ATF. It was there that Okabe was first introduced to Amadeus in person, beginning the long road of pain that led him to the world line that he was currently in. It resembled a college campus, but it was an expansive site with many main labs, visitor centers, and auditoriums.

Kurisu, catching on to what Okabe was thinking, answered.

"Yes," she said. "We left one of my acquantainces in charge of it since she seems like an incredibly capable person to handle such a task. You're planning on taking them out of the Committee's influence, aren't you?"

"Bingo," Okabe snapped his fingers. "It's nice to see that my assistant is thinking on the same frequency I am. However, we use the Wako City Institute as an excuse so that we can wipe their records clean from the Committee databases and then we can silently re-insert them into America as if nothing ever happened."

"That sounds like a good plan," Maho eyed the floor with her chin in her hand. "But what if the people looking over the patients don't want to hand them over to us? The Committee is well aware that their influence in Japan is almost non-existent. What then?"

"We use Dr. Leskinen. Exploit his connection to Stratfor in an attempt to get them to hand over the patients."

Maho and Kurisu's eyes both widened at the fact that they were supposed to lie and use the name of their retired mentor in order to coerce the Committe's henchmen. While Leskinen may have been an evil person in the world Okabe came from, he never did anything wrong and, in fact, taught the trio everything they needed to know about being good, ethical, and moral scientists.

"What does Dr. Leskinen have to do with this?" Maho objected.

"Yeah," Kurisu agreed. "That's going too far, Okarin."

Okabe felt himself deflate a little. He was so accustomed to using whatever means necessary and deceit was one of the tamest options he could have ever imagined. He had no reference point for how he handled situations like these on this world line without getting his hands dirty for the right purpose. He wasn't even sure if Dr. Leskinen was involved with anything shady like he was on the Beta Attractor Field. He continued racking his brain, hoping for ideas to hit him. He finally pulled the letter which his past self had written out from his pocket. He had carried it around all day and used it every now and then to help him get through his day-to-day.

He read and reread the letter, hoping to figure out the nature of his past self so that he could come up with a plan that followed the morality he had always seemed to display on such a peaceful world line.

Out of nowhere, an image he had never recalled from his time on the Alpha or Beta Lines flashed across his eyes. It was himself, fighting a group of people with skill and precision. He never was able to achieve such a feat in his life. Just what the hell was it? He shook the image out of his head. There was no way he'd turn to violence especially because of the fact that he could never hope to defend himself in hand-to-hand combat. He had experience in war, but he never engaged in fisticuffs.

"We'll just have to cross that line when we get there, then."

He folded the letter and placed it back into his pocket.

"That's a pretty important thing that you're just planning on winging," Kurisu said crossing her arms. "We can't figure this out now?"

"There's no point in thinking about it if there's a chance we may not have to resort to anything else," Okabe responded. "Plan B will happen covertly. That doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen on the same day."

Okabe continued on with the initial plan. "It'll only be me and Maho. If the Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Victor Chondria is with me, it might give me some credibility and make them more likely to hand off the patients."

"But what about me? I can be useful."

"I know you are, but as it stands, I don't want to risk you getting tagged by the Committee. Maho is safer because of the possibility that the Committee has its hands entrenched in Victor Chondria, thus making her more credible with them. I'm an obscure face who is only known to work at Victor Chondria so it wouldn't give them a reason to tag me."

"And if you get tagged?"

"Then I flee."

"And what about me?"

"You flee too. The Committee will know that we're married by that point and may try to use you to get to me."

Kurisu leaned back into the couch, hardly satisfied with Okabe's answer, but she no longer had any questions. Maho seemed to still be thinking, her emerald eyes dancing in her head as she processed the information she was given with the expectations she had. She finally stopped and nodded her head.

"Sounds like a plan," she said. "I'll relay the information to Hashida."

"Wait, I could-" Okabe tried saying.

"No," Maho interjected. "It's the least I can do for making your nightmares surface like they did. You focus on getting your head back in the game because we'll need you at 100% for the operation to be a success. What will we call it?"

"We shall dub this operation, Operation Vidar," Okabe said. "Tomorrow marks the commencement of Operation Vidar."

Both women giggled in familiarity of the naming system Okabe used to name his operations. Maho made her way out of the couple's abode, promising to call Daru as soon as she got to her house. Kurisu and Okabe waved at her as she ventured out of sight, taking an elevator to get to the first floor of their highrise.

As soon as Okabe shut the door, he leaned on it and slid down to a sitting position. He looked at Kurisu who was eyeing him with worry, her hands were caught in between wanting to catch him and pulling back in defense of what he might try. Here, it seemed like he could finally clearly see her for the first time. Sure, he may have seen her red hair finally freed from its ponytail from earlier before; he may have seen her bright, violet eyes before; he may have seen her aged face that donned no wrinkles many times before; he may have seen her white dress shirt, red tie, and long, black skirt before; he may have seen her thin, black-framed glasses which rested neatly on her face before; but it was here that he could finally see her for who she was on this world line. She wasn't a recreation of the girl he loved on the Alpha Attractor Field like Amadeus, hell she had differences between now and the version of herself on the Alpha Attractor Field, but it was likely because of her growing up and becoming more experienced.

All the distractions he experienced between arriving to the Steins Gate World Line to having to come up with a plan to stop anyone from unlocking the secrets to travelling through time didn't allow him the reprieve to stop and appreciate the main reason why he kept fighting to begin with.

She was worried for him. Even though he housed no memories of the world line he resided in, she still worried for him deeply and it was present in her desire to help him. It was that brief moment that he understood what he meant to her. He may not have been able to recall the day she was sexually assaulted in Akihabara, but she still forgave that because she truly believed that he was her husband. He didn't deserve her in the slightest yet she was still there, fighting by his side, willing to adapt and overcome the pain he inadvertently put her through by coming to the Steins Gate World Line.

Two lone tears worked their way out of his eyes. Still, looking at Kurisu and appreciating who she was, he couldn't stop himself.

"Okarin?"

"I told you I'd see you again," he said. "Admittedly, it was more my desire to see you talking than my actual certainty in that statement."

Kurisu retracted her hand completely. She got confused.

"I went as far as suffering through 11 years of isolation with Suzuha and Mayuri just to make it here," he continued. "The more I think about it, the more this feels like a hallucination spawned by my mind going mad in such a cramped place. This feels so real, but at the same time it feels like a dream that I could wake up from at any time."

"It's a good thing it's not a dream, right?" Kurisu softly smiled. "Come on."

She extended her hand for Okabe to grab. Okabe obliged and grabbed it, pulling himself up with Kurisu's help. Kurisu proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck, keeping them close to each other.

"You're still my Okarin, Rintaro."

For the first time since he had visited the Steins Gate World Line, Kurisu addressed him by his first name.

"Over these past couple days, I've seen you as the man who saved me all those years ago more than I've seen the man who had replaced my husband. Your mannerisms, your attitude, your personality; they're all the same. You suffered so much for my sake. You almost died multiple times, but you kept on fighting. Okarin, this isn't a dream. You've found me."

She put her forehead against his. "I love you."

Okabe could feel her breath against his face. The lemony scent that emanated from her lips made its way up his olfactory nerve, causing his Central Nervous System to bounce multiple different electrical signals in his neurons.

His arms, which were at his side for the most part, wrapped around Kurisu's body pulling her closer to him.

"You were the obsession I chased," he said. "And now here you are."

He laughed something that sounded like a half-sob. More tears began working their way out of eyes and started flowing down his cheeks.

"And I'll always be here for you, no matter what," she said. "In sickness and in health. I chose you. You were the recipient of my loving vows. You will forever be my darling, Okarin. I hope I can hold you as dear as you hold me."

Kurisu broke their contact and looked up in his eyes. She broke the hold she had on Okabe's neck so that she could wipe away the tears that flowed down his cheeks.

"Come on now," she laughed. "Hououin Kyouma doesn't cry, does he?"

"You're right," he sniffled. "But Okabe Rintaro isn't immune to shedding a couple tears."

Kurisu smiled. She put his cheeks in her hands, prompting Okabe to do the same. They both looked deeply in each other's eyes, understanding each other on a deeper level than words could express. Kurisu was in pain, but she hid it in order to stay strong for Okabe. He could tell just from the way her eyes looked.

"It's okay to cry," Okabe said. "You don't have to be so strong for me, Kurisu."

Another image flashed in his head. He was in the same room where he had to explain himself to Maho at the Neuroscience Institute.

"Just let go of the tears," he said. "Just like you said all that time ago in the Neuroscience Institute, I'll always be here for you."

It was an image of him crying into Kurisu's shoulders. She said those words to him a long time ago. The fact that he was able to remember something that happened to him on this world line impressed him, but it still wasn't enough to have hints of memories here and there rather than an actual understanding of where he stood.

Kurisu's strong smile shattered. It was that one push that she needed to start crying. She wrapped her arms around him, clutching at the back of his shirt tightly as she sobbed loudly into his chest. He held her tight, not allowing her to ever be taken from him again.

"I love you, Kurisu. Nothing will ever change that."

He held and rocked with her. Allowing her all the time she needed to cry it out.

 _It's only right,_ he thought. _It's only right._

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there you have it folks. Chapter 11 is done and dealt with and it was probably one of my darker chapters just because of the flashback that took place in the Steins Gate World Line. I took a page out of some other authors and started focusing more on internal feelings and descriptors rather than _just_ dialogue and this chapter was the byproduct of that. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for supporting this story as much as you have, it warms my heart that people are entertained by this! Chapter 12 will take a little longer than usual to write, but it'll come. I can't begin to express my gratitude for you all, so I'll just leave it at that, **

**~Quil.**


	12. First Impressions

_**Date: December 11, 2010**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 25 years, 11 months, 3 days.**_

Kurisu flopped on her bed in her comfy Los Angeles home, flustered by the embarassing letter she had sent Okabe which was said to have been delivered to him at this point. She didn't even know the guy that well and here she was sending him letters as if she were more than acquainted with him. She had spent a month or so looking for him after he had done what he did at Radio Kaikan, but she never found any trace of him until they ran into each other in the streets of Akihabara. Some inner part of her felt like she had known him for a lifetime, but she swore she had never seen him before July 28th, the day her dad nearly killed her. That guy...he was something else. He had the nerve to speak to her as if he knew her, too, and it bugged her to no end. Were Japanese teenagers really that rude?

She grabbed her Upa cushion which was gifted to her by a girl she hardly got to know, Mayuri, and pulled herself up beside it before hugging it tightly in between her chest and legs.

Her room was as girly as it got. It was dominated by warm, red colors and exuded a warmth that always comforted her after she had a long day at the Institute in Victor Chondria. It had a pink carpet and her comforter was pink on top of that. Her ceiling fan was the purest white as it could get and she made sure to clean it of dust every day she could. Just across from her bed was her desk, where her red laptop was sitting. It used to have pictures of her and the rest of her family, but after what her father had done, she couldn't help but replace it with pictures she had taken alone with her mother. Seeing the pictures reminded her of the heartbreak she felt when her dad was willing to throw her aside just for his petty fame; the fear she felt when he attacked her. But _he_ was there, _he_ saved her.

She looked over at her nightstand. Sitting atop it, along with her small jar of purple gladioulus flowers was a small, circular, golden pin that resembled a gear wheel. Alongside what would be considered the top were the letters OSHMKUFA with the year 2010 engraved beside it. The pin resting on her nightstand was the product of the first time she ran into her savior after the Radio Kaikan incident. She remembered it clearly:

"I finally met you."

She spent so long wandering the streets of Akiba in hopes of finding him once more. She delayed her flight back to America for a couple days in order for her to be able to at least say thank you to her savior, but he had seemingly vanished from existence as quickly as he entered her reality. She struggled. But when she caught a glimpse of the labcoat, of the man facing her back then, she felt a warmth in her heart, an appreciation. Her savior stood in awe when, in reality, she should have been. It seemed as if time froze around them.

"I've been looking for you all this time," she said. "Ever since you saved me back then, I've always- I've always wanted to find you so that I could at least say one word of gratitude. I wanted to meet you no matter what. So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

She smiled, a tear unwittingly making its way out of her eye, but she recovered before it fell. The man that stood in front of her was _him._ She could easily tell. His face and his mannerisms were engraved into her memory, and she could never forget him no matter how hard she tried. She remembered him getting stabbed for her, a sacrifice made in order to protect a total stranger like her.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she continued before tears began flowing down her cheeks.

She wasn't sobbing, but she was crying nonetheless. For the first time in her life, someone was willing to go out of their way to do something for her. She smiled at the man whose softness radiated the comfort she was looking for after so long. It was so weird. She never met him before, but the appreciation she felt for him was beyond anything she thought she could feel. He smiled at her, almost seeming like he was about to devolve into tears as well.

The man reached into his labcoat pocket to pull out a red cellphone. She wondered if he had gotten a call from someone important. He put it up to his ear almost as soon as he took it out.

"It's me," he said frantically. "Why is she here? Even though my 'Reading Steiner' didn't activate- What?! Me, protect her?! Don't just say things on your own like that!"

Whoever was on the phone with him was seemingly arguing with him about something. Were they talking about her? All she could do was watch as the man that saved her talked with an unknown person on the other side of the line.

"Is that the choice of Steins Gate? Fine then, El Psy Kongroo."

Kurisu could only look in wonder at the man before her. The words that he uttered rang a sort of familiarity within her that she couldn't quite pinpoint and she hated herself for not being able to remember just where those words came from.

"So we meet again, Christina," he said to who she could only presume was her.

"No, just how many times do I have to tell you that there's no -tina at the end of my name and that I'm not your assist-"

She caught herself before she could go any further. What she had just said felt like it was out of habit and she could only feel like it was something she had said often even though she had no memory of doing so. The man's face flashed a look of surprise, and they both stood in shock at what she had told him. She couldn't help feel a little embarrassed.

"I...just now...words just suddenly popped into my head..." she could only explain it as that and nothing more. "Why...?"

He could only smile.

"Nice to meet you, assistant of mine, Makise Kurisu -no- Christina."

He reached into his coat's other pocket and pulled out a pin which resembled a gear wheel and extended it out to her. Confusion and curiosity mounted within her, but she could only accept what was being given to her.

"This is the choice of Steins Gate."

Now, Kurisu could feel redness invading her face. She could only hate her past self for being so impressed by such a child. Almost all feelings of gratitude nearly evaporated once she found out who the man truly was. Okabe Rintaro. A university student attending Tokyo Denki University and majoring in Engineering. He seemed normal enough, but then she got to know him a little bit better after that and she hoped she hadn't. She would have rather lived with the dream of a perfect man who was her hero at Radio Kaikan rather than the man she knew now. A self-proclaimed "mad scientist". A delusional maniac who always spouted stuff about the Organization and called her names that she didn't want to be called.

She sighed into her Upa pillow. Despite all that, she couldn't help sending him the stupid letter telling him about her day-to-day. Sure, he had his nice moments, he saved her life after all, but those moments were only glimpses at what she believed were what made him up. For the two days she was there after finding him, she noticed so many subtle hints as to who he was. He was a generous person, but that generosity was locked behind that damned Hououin Kyouma personality that his deluded mind had come up with. She swore she hated him, but deep down she felt a kind of deep connection with him that she never thought she was capable of. She could only assume that it was all from those dreams she had about him.

She got red just thinking of them. In one of them, she went so far as to get in bed with him! **(A/N: this part comes from my M-rated one-shot story, which is canon in this fanfic)** But there was more to just being embarrassed, she felt...sad whenever she recalled it. It was almost as if she were saying goodbye to him forever. All that emotion was felt in the dream, so much so that it felt way too real for her, as if that had actually happened to her at some point.

A vibrating phone on her bed knocked her out of her thoughts. It only vibrated twice, meaning that Kurisu had gotten an email. She quickly jumped on it, opening up to examine its contents. The sender read: Okabe Rintaro. The subject of the message was merely, "Thank You".

She held her breath as she opened it, waiting to see what was in store for her.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there's a short flashback. I know it wasn't much in terms of character development or anything, but it gave me a chance to write something completely isolated without affecting the rest of my story. I just finished Chaos;Child and my AP testing is over, so a full chapter is in the works and should be out some time after this was posted. Thank you for tagging along the ride! I hope you're not disappointed.**

 **~Quil**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Steins;Gate and the other Science Adventure works belong to Chiyomaru Studio. Without these titles, I would never have the great opportunity to be** **able to write this fic.**

 **This flashback includes spoilers to the Common Route of Chaos;Child. Read at your own risk.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _ **Date: November 6, 2015**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 11 years, 8 days.**_

"So, you still won't help?"

Daru rolled his chair back, taking his attention away from the 2chan festival that was going on because of the apparent appearance of Takuru Miyashiro at Shibuya's Restoration Festival. It was Friday night, so both Okabe and Daru were spending the night at the Future Gadget Laboratory as they usually do on the weekends now that school was over for them.

Okabe was sat on the sofa, watching the news broadcast from the CRT TV that Mr. Tennouji had given them, apparently also watching what was going on in Shibuya. He was leaned forward, taking in everything he could get. The person who claimed to be Takuru Miyashiro appeared on the screen, prompting Okabe to sigh at the fact that people would try and pretend to be someone accused of being a serial killer.

"Is that sigh a no?" Daru asked.

"Oh, no," Okabe snapped his attention away from the TV. "It was just about what's going on in Shibuya. They've really gone mad, haven't they?"

Daru narrowed his eyes. "Why do I feel like you're trying to change the subject to Shibuya so that you can avoid answering my question."

"We've gone over this haven't we, Daru?" Okabe retorted. "I just...I'm done trying to fight. I spent an eternity trapped in a hell of my own doing. I've seen horrors that no man should even have to experience once, tenfold. I've done all I could to bring about this world line, but I'm just too tired to continue trying. I said I'd offer help with ensuring that the time machine isn't created, but leading the fight against a secret Organization? I just can't do that."

"But this is the stuff you've dreamed about for years on end-"

"And this is reality as it is, Daru," Okabe cut him off. "This isn't some delusion of mine. This organization, this Committee of 300, they're real, and I just can't imagine I'd be someone capable of stopping that."

Daru slumped his shoulders, sighing. He knew Okabe was the perfect man to stop the Committee. He heard the stories of what he had to go through in order to come to this world line. The guy before him was someone who stood toe-to-toe against a research organization like SERN and came out on top because of his wit and his will, combined with the apparent help from himself and Kurisu.

"I'm sorry," Daru said.

"For what?"

"For trying to include you in this so bluntly," Daru said. "Your achievements are nothing to scoff at, Okarin, but in order to keep the world line as it is, don't you think you should try a little bit harder?"

Daru saw Okabe's blank face turn into one of anger. However, before he could get a word off, they heard a knock at the door. Okabe's attention went from Daru to the door.

"Who's that?"

"Oh," Daru realized. "I invited Kunosato-shi and her friends here in order to hide out."

Okabe froze, his brows furrowing as he thought through what Daru had just told him. "You invited them...here? Daru, we don't have any room!"

"Of course not, dude," Daru said. "I was able to arrange something with Faris-tan. I'm just here to meet them so I could take them off the hands of the guy who brought them here. Apparently he needs to go back so that he can go help Miyashiro-kun."

Daru remember having explained to Okabe what was going on after he had gotten off the phone with Ms. Kunosato. Apparently, some killer girl had instructed her to take herself and her friends out of Shibuya. Kurisu had given Ms. Kunosato his contact information after having learned of her plight, forcing Daru to move around on short notice, something that he was used to thanks to his work as co-leader of the Committee of Antimatter, the resistance against the Committee of 300 which he led with an online personality, Neidhardt. Ms. Kunosato sounded like she had a cute voice, and Daru relished in being able to hear it for as long as he could, and he could only help getting giddy at seeing just who that voice belonged to. He was also warned by Ms. Kunosato that her friends were sufferers of Chaos Child Syndrome, and that he should make no comment about their looks because they're convinced that they were just normal-looking people. Kurisu also made sure to voice that concern with Okabe when he called her in order to get more info on the group.

The pair walked down the steps to open the door to their apartment. Okabe, wearing his classic labcoat over his t-shirt while Daru opted to dress up more conservatively because of how cold it was at night in Akiba, and he knew he was going to have to walk around. Daru peered through the eyehole and saw one sole person hogging the entire viewspace. If that person was Ms. Kunosato, Daru would come to understand how someone like that could have such a cute voice.

He opened the door, revealing the rest of the people who were at the entrance. At the forefront was the beautiful girl that Daru had seen through the viewhole, black hair messily tied into a ponytail which never removed from her natural beauty. Her eyes were a sharp violet, the sharpness being added on by just how fierce she seemed to be. The thing that caught his attention most was the fact that she wore a labcoat, just like Okabe, over a school uniform. His first thought was that she was probably as delusional as Okabe and was wasting his time, but he knew Kurisu wouldn't refer her to him if she wasn't serious.

Daru turned his attention toward the girl's colleagues and could barely hold a gasp, Okabe also noticeably trying to hold one back. Behind her were four others. There was a very normal-looking man who was probably the guy who brought them, but in between him and her were three people who looked so out of place. He couldn't help staring at them. Their skin was unhealthily green, and they all seemed so withered and frail. Two of them were supposedly blonde girls, one looking smaller than the other probably because she was younger. Another differentiating factor was the fact that the smaller one had glasses and a Gero Froggy backpack. The last member seemed like a young boy with black hair, and he was clutching onto the smaller blonde girl with his life.

Daru felt a bead of sweat form on his temple and slide its way down. He could only manage to gulp. The older blonde girl instinctively covered her chest.

"I swear, Akiba is full of perverts," she said with a raspiness in her voice. "It's like all anyone can do is stare at a teenage girl while she's just trying to live her life."

The pretty one, the one who Daru could only assume was Ms. Kunosato, spoke over the CCS girl's complaints. She looked at Okabe. "Are you the man that I was on the phone with?"

Her tone was rather crass, making Daru shiver a bit.

"U-uh," Okabe started putting his hand behind his head, scratching it. "N-no. The guy you talked to is right here."

Daru could feel her eyes land on him, making his sexual urges of being dominated arise for the briefest moment.

"Oh," she said seemingly unimpressed.

"Listen, Kunosato-san," the older blonde girl spoke up again. "Are you sure we can trust these guys? They don't seem like people that can actually protect us."

"Be quiet," Kunosato ordered. "Hashida-san, I'm very sorry for intruding and asking you to help us get away from Shibuya for the remainder of the Restoration Festival."

Kunosato closed her eyes and bowed slightly. Daru was taken aback at the polarity between how he talked to her colleague and how she acknowledged his presence after confirming who he was.

"O-oh," he said. "It's no problem. Any friend of Makise-shi is very obviously a friend of mine."

"I take it I can leave you here with them?" the man spoke up. "Every second I take, the greater the danger I allow Miyashiro-kun to put himself in."

He had on a suit and tie, like one of those stereotypical detective types who went around looking deeper into cases without actually complying with the rules and regulations of the police force he was a part of. He seemed like a very tired man who was running on very little sleep, but his tone of voice was one of urgency as it seemed like he wanted to quickly leave.

"Yeah," she said. "Good luck, Shinjo-san."

"That's new," he said before running toward his car. "I never thought you'd be capable of saying something so nice to me!"

"Huh?!" Kunosato turned toward the running man, obviously offended, but Shinjo was already in the car and headed back to Shibuya.

Daru and Okabe could only watch the whole transgression occur. They looked at each other and then looked at the group remaining before them. Daru stepped to the side to allow Ms. Kunosato and the rest of the group in before Okabe stepped in his place, blocking the entrance once again.

"Be wary," he warned. "For once you feast your eyes upon the Future Gadget Laboratory, your lives will be placed in mortal danger because of the nature of our experiments. I must ask for your undying loyalty to our lab as it is all I could ask for aside from actually making you a lab member."

Daru's head bowed a little behind Okabe and he sighed. "Really, Okarin? You have to be saying that stuff right now?"

"Wrong, Super Hacka!" he said. "The name's not Okarin, nor is it Okabe Rintaro, it is Hououin Kyouma!"

As usual, the guy whipped his labcoat up to generate fake wind and covered his face with both arms before falling into a fit of mad laughter as he usually did to accompany his pose. His actions came under scrutiny from the hard gaze of Ms. Kunosato and the worried looks of the others.

 _It's not even "Hacka", it's "hacker", dude,_ Daru thought to himself.

"That's a lie," the older blonde girl uttered catching Okabe off-guard.

"W-what do you mean 'that's a lie'?!" Okabe dropped his arms and stared back at the girl pretty much ignoring her looks at that point. "Who are you to say that I, the great Hououin Kyouma, am lying?!"

"Get out of the way, idiot," Ms. Kunosato said. "As far as I know, you're just a hindrance and don't matter in the end."

Daru could only flinch at what she said. He could see Okabe's face darken as she finished her sentence, an expected reaction based off what he was forced to experience. Only he and Kurisu knew just how important Okabe was to the existence of the world line itself, and he wasn't one to call attention to his accomplishments, but hearing such scathing words from someone who didn't even know his situation hurt Daru just about as bad as he thought it hurt Okabe.

"Listen, Kunosato-shi..." Daru started but couldn't bring himself to talk about what Okabe had done in front of her.

"Fufufu," Okabe started before throwing his head back. "FUHAHAHAHA! Do you really think that such an insult is capable of making me, the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma, flinch?! You stand no chance against me, girl!"

He kept laughing, Daru understood that it was all forced. Even though it was a classic thing for Okabe to say and do, he was trying his best to mask his dejection at being treated like nothing by someone who barely understood him.

"Absolutely despicable," Ms. Kunosato said to Okabe causing him to stop his laughter. "Hashida-san, how is someone with your skillsets friends with someone like him?"

"N-Now-" Daru tried starting before he was interrupted by Okabe.

"The Hacka is not my friend!" he continued as Kyouma. "He is my Favorite Right Arm! He is my equal as much as he is my subordinate! We both aim to bring the world's ruling structure to its kne-!"

Kunosato clicked her tongue. "Your friend doesn't seem to understand the intricacies of the situation we're in, Hashida-san. Do you think we can move somewhere else to discuss matters a little more privately without a low-life like this incessant child staying around and risking the secrecy of our plight?"

Okabe cracked a little. Daru could notice the facade being chipped away with each negative remark being made by Kunosato. He knew he had to do something to stop the situation from getting out of hand, but he placed blind faith in Okabe being able to maneuver out of the situation on his own. He didn't have the strength to stand up to his best friend after all the stuff he was trying to force him to do.

"N-now, I'll have you know that all lab members are sworn to upmost secrecy," Okabe tried explaining. "Without this promise of secrecy, the world could easily go to hell quicker than you or I could blink."

This was the most serious statement Okabe came up with. This wasn't him being Hououin Kyouma for once. It was the secret about the time machine. Kurisu, Daru, and Okabe all knew about it. Most notably, Okabe seemingly knew how to build one and even proved to Kurisu that her original theory was, for the most part, right. If that secret ever got loose, then the world would turn into a hell that no one could see coming. He saw the older blonde girl perk up when he mentioned the secret, but he thought nothing of it.

Kunosato sighed. "Listen, whoever you are, you don't understand anything about the world do you? You're so stuck in your own delusions that the real world is just something that you haven't been a part of, haven't you? You've probably imagined losing someone close to you at the hands of very evil people, but you'll _never_ come close to experiencing that in real life because of how insignificant you are on the world stage. If you can please leave while I discuss things with Hashida-san, it'd make everything easier for everyone."

Daru grit his teeth. He could only imagine what was going through Okabe's mind right now. At the very moment, he felt a very uneasy heat emanating from Okabe's persona, as if he was literally steaming. He looked over and saw Okabe caught in between a state of total hatred and internal despair. Daru wasn't used to feeling scared around Okabe, but he actually shivered when he saw the look on Okabe's face. Okabe went totally silent, not following up with a retort whatsoever. Kunosato smiled, feeling like she was finally able to get rid of who she thought was a hindrance. However, that smile instantly turned into a frown as Okabe looked right back at her. This wasn't Hououin Kyouma, this wasn't Okarin, this was Rintaro Okabe, the man who suffered more than anyone could ever imagine. Okabe stared right into her eyes, imposing an authority that he lacked when he first opened the door. Kunosato took a wary step backwards, prompting the rest of the group to step backwards. Okabe's face darkened once more, becoming a puzzle for Daru to try and decipher.

"Hey, Daru," Okabe said in a low voice. "What do you think we should tell Kurisu when she finds out we had to unfortunately turn down Kunosato and her friends."

Okabe went as far as to drop the honorifics with Ms. Kunosato when he addressed her by name. His tone confirmed Daru's suspicions that he was pissed. Usually he's able to bounce quips off someone's criticisms, but everything was usually light-hearted such as when he and Kurisu would bicker, or when he'd get into a flame-war with Neidhardt, but Kunosato's words were downright insulting to the point that he couldn't sense any sort of sarcasm in them.

"K-Kunosato-san," the talkative blonde girl hissed. "He's not bluffing. He's actually considering turning us away. Drop the bitchy act for just one second, please."

"You," Okabe pointed his finger at her. "Tell me your name."

The girl flinched and pulled back a bit, obviously feeling a little threatened by Okabe's new demeanor.

"A-Arimura," she said. "Arimura Hinae, sir."

"You seem like a knowledgeable person, Arimura," Okabe said in the same low and serious tone. "It's pretty weird how you can tell whether someone is telling the truth or not, but I know someone else who's also capable of such a trick, so I wouldn't fault you for having the same ability at all. I want you to tell me if I'm lying about something."

"Y-yes, sir."

He looked back at Kunosato who was eyeing him with contempt. "Would I be lying when I say: your damned way of life is only how it is now because of what I've done to preserve the world as you know it?"

Hinae was about to speak and confirm his statement, but Okabe had cut her off before she got a word off. The dam holding back his emotions was broken, and Kunosato was about to bear the full weight of his words.

"Based off that labcoat, you seem to be an experiment-loving girl just like Kurisu. But under all that, you're still just a kid, Kunosato. Kurisu told me all about you. I know you aim to at least be able to even _walk in her shadow._ "

Okabe took a step out of the door toward Kunosato, prompting the entire group to take another step back. "You know what I also understand? I know you need our help, I know about the situation you people find yourselves in and how insignificant _you_ are in the end of it all. So, you better start addressing me with the respect you sorely lack, or else I'll make your insignificance evident by sending you back to Shibuya myself!"

"Okarin, that's enough."

Daru got in between the group and Okabe. Okabe was dangerously close to grabbing Kunosato, but Daru stopped him. "Go upstairs and cool off, I'll take it from here."

Okabe seemed to snap out of the trance he was in before clicking his tongue and going back into the lab. Daru looked back at the group who were obviously shaken up by what Okabe had said, but Hinae seemed to have taken it the worst. Kunosato quickly turned to Hinae, trying to get an answer out of her about what Okabe had said.

"Was he telling the truth?" she asked.

"In its entirety," Hinae shivered. "Not a single ounce of dishonesty came from his words. You really pissed him off, Kunosato-san."

Kunosato turned to Daru, probably wondering how Okabe could be telling the truth about how he worked to preserve the world as everyone knew it. Daru put his hand up to quiet her down, not wanting another word out of her. Okabe was right, she was just a kid. No matter how mature she wanted to be, she didn't touch the experience that he nor Okabe had in regards to the world around them.

"Don't worry about it Hina-chan - can I call you Hina-chan?"

Hinae nodded slowly.

"Okarin's had a rough couple weeks and I'm sorry that he took it out on you all," he said. "He's been under a lot of pressure so I hope you can understand a little bit about where he's coming from."

Daru pushed everyone back even more so that he could step out, putting on his shoes before he stepped out.

"Anyway, this isn't the place," he said. "I just asked you all to meet me here so that it could be easier on Detective Shinjo. The real place where you're staying is farther up north."

The atmosphere was still tense due to the brutality of Okabe's words, but Daru did his best to work around it. He stretched his arms and moaned loudly as relief flooded through his body. Such an action prompted the young boy to laugh a little bit, and he was glad he got a reaction out of it at least.

"Now then," he said turning away from the lab. "If you follow me, your living quarters are this way."

* * *

Okabe and Maho walked up to Los Angeles County General Hospital. Both of them receieved a couple stares from non-assuming Americans, most likely because of how weird it was to see someone small like Maho next to a seeming madman like Okabe because of his labcoat. It was an overcast day and it was early in the morning, a time that was deliberately chosen in order to lessen the amount of people around them.

"I told you not to bring the labcoat," Maho sighed. "Now we're drawing more attention than we need to."

She was blushing the entire time, but Okabe knew she was doing her best to remain composed despite how inconspicuous he made himself out to be.

The pair were dropped off by a reluctant Kurisu, still having her doubts about the plan Okabe was trying to set in motion. He tried shaking off what had happened the night before in order to clear his head from distractions. Kurisu was hurt so bad that she had fallen asleep crying on his shoulder. Okabe wanted to blame himself for her pain, but she kept saying that it wasn't his fault despite the tears. She finally let all her feelings loose when he prompted her after the umpteenth time. However, it was different than the verbal abuse she put him through when he had first arrived to Steins Gate. She talked about how much she missed the other version of him, of the stuff that they did together that he was unable to remember at that point. She cried for _him_ , not for herself, that he was unable to share the cherished memories that they had together. Having lived through a decade of war, he was unable to express himself as he was used to, but he couldn't help feel for the pain that Kurisu was feeling in his stead. He still pushed forward, emboldened by his past self's letter, to try and ensure the world's safety.

The doors to the hospital slid open to allow the pair into the first floor lobby. There were many people sitting around in chairs, but Maho blazed past them all with Okabe in tow. In Okabe's arms was the ridiculous amount of paperwork that needed to be signed in order to release the patients from Los Angeles General and transfer them to the Neuroscience Institute in Victor Chondria. From there, Maho planned on signing the paperwork that would hand off the patients to the director of the Wako City Institute, Mio Kunosato. Apparently, Kurisu was going to fill her in on their plight, so he only had to focus on finding a way to get the patients out of the hospital. He studied the paperwork and highlighted where the secretaries needed to sign, but even then, it would take a full minute or so just to get through and sign without reading.

Okabe looked up to find that the Neurology section of the officer was on the second floor, before his gaze landed on Maho once more who was already in the elevator waiting for him. He could feel the looks he got from the people sitting around at their desks awaiting for any other patient to come up and sign in.

 _This hospital has been infiltrated by the Committee,_ he told himself. _Trust no one except for Maho._

He filed into the elevator with the woman, closing the door before anyone else chose to barge in. Okabe looked straight at the door, trying his best not to give away anything in case there were microphones or cameras in the elevators.

"Can you hear me?" Okabe said.

"Loud and clear," Maho and another voice said.

Before the mission, Daru instructed Okabe to put on the most unassuming earpiece he could ever imagine. It was small and had the color of his earlobe while also keeping the middle black to make it look like his ear canal. What people thought was just a regular ear was actually his earpiece simulating what the inside of one would look like. It also helped that he didn't have to put his finger up to it in order to activate it like he had to do with the ones on the Beta Attractor Field.

Okabe looked down at Maho and smiled. She winked in return.

"Did you see that?" Okabe followed up.

"Maho-tan's cute face makes my heart beat faster by the minute," Daru said.

It took everything in Maho's willpower to not react to what Daru had said. She also had an earpiece, but it was covered by her hair so it didn't have to go through extensive lengths of detailing in order to make it replicate what her ear would look like.

Along with his earpiece, Okabe was wearing contact lenses that acted as cameras for Daru to take in everything. He wore it with Daru's expressed purpose of seeing what he probably couldn't depending on where he was focusing. Daru also needed the lenses to help lay out the hospital and its workings so that, if needed, he'd be able to take control of the system for however long Okabe needed.

"Don't tell me, you saw something that I can't see because you're as delusional as ever, Okabe-san," Maho responded in a mocking tone.

She smirked. Even though it was a fake response that was meant to continue the flow of conversation without drawing any possible attention to themselves, Okabe could still feel like Maho was trying to make some sort of personal attack on him.

Okabe knew the risks he was taking by trying to infiltrate a hospital on his own, but his time spent in war solidified him into the man who was currently standing in the elevator, trying to have a good time. Infiltration missions were nothing to him compared to what he was forced to coordinate during wartime, but he didn't know how Maho was taking it. Her composure was perfectly fine, but he could tell that she was probably terrified at the fact that she was getting as close to danger as she was, risking her future trying to preserve the world's identity. Okabe understood better than her, if anyone got their hands on time travel, convergence would be broken and he'd be launched back into the Beta Attractor Field, possibly to his death. His resolve was strengthened when he thought about it; he brought this world line to fruition, and now he had to protect it until he could decide whether or not to hand the reins back to his other self.

The elevator ringed to signal the end of their short trip to the second floor.

Maho took a step out of the elevator, prompting Okabe to follow her. The entire floor of LA County General was dedicated to Neurology, and the front desk to it all was just a short walk from the elevator. The pair passed by a lot of empty seats, presumably because of the nature of the patients that they currently kept. The less eyes on the people that suffered from this "disease" the better it was for the people trying to experiment on them. This also made it easier to find rats trying to break the patients free, something that probably happened after the failure that his two agents endured when they came to the hospital.

Both scientists approcahed the front desk. At the desk was just one woman who seemed to be on the younger side with her blonde hair tied back into a ponytail and red-rimmed glasses sitting on her face. Her blue eyes weren't as vibrant as one would expect, probably from how bored she seemed from the lack of people on the floor. The secretary looked at them both, oblivious to who they were and recited something she probably did many times over.

"I'm sorry," she addressed Okabe in English. "But there's no visitors allowed at this time. If you have an appointment to schedule, please make your way to the first floor and they'll gladly fill it out for you there."

Maho was unfazed. "We're with the Institute of Neuroscience at Victor Chondria University. We'd like to have a look at the patients that you currently have residing on this floor."

The secretary - Amy, as proven by the nameplate that sat in front of her - was taken aback when Maho responded instead of Okabe. She looked at Maho, then back at Okabe, then at Maho again.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

Maho sighed. "My name is Maho Hiyajo, I'm the director of the Neuroscience Institute from the aformentioned university. If I may ask, who's the presiding doctor over these patients?"

Amy was at a loss for words. It reminded Okabe of the first time he had ever met Maho in 2011 when he volunteered to help out at ATF. He too was taken aback at how young she looked, but she carried herself quite well despite her stature. However, no one would be able to understand that unless they got to know her the way he did when he was with her.

"Uh," she started. "I'm gonna need identification before any of that happens."

Maho rolled her eyes, took her badge off from around her neck, and showed it to Amy. Okabe followed suit and presented his badge to the secretary as well, who was still trying to piece together what Maho had given her. She looked at the badge then at Maho.

"You're 20 years older than me?!" she exclaimed.

Okabe saw Maho get red before swiping the badge away from Amy.

"I mean," she continued. "That's not a bad thing! You look so young and cute for your age!"

"I get it!" Maho snapped. "I know I'm old, but you can stop rubbing it in!"

They were all interrupted by a door down the hall to the right side of the desk sliding open then closed. A man spoke.

"Hey, Amy," he said. "Can you pull up Ms. Grant's medical history? I want to double-check something."

Okabe froze. It was an all-too familiar voice. Not only that, it was a voice that he loathed to hear no matter what. He tried so hard to keep his easy-going facade up, but hearing the voice made it so much harder for him to not crack. He looked at its origin. There he was, looking down at a couple charts in his hand, a white beard, a slightly wrinkled face, and short, blonde hair that was intermingled with a couple gray hairs. He was tall, and big. At that very moment, he emanated the most friendly vibe that anyone could possibly imagine, but Okabe saw through it in an instant. The man looked up, and a grin flashed across his face.

"Maho! Rintaro!" he dropped everything he was doing and ran up to envelop Okabe in a bear-hug.

Even though he should have been in his 60s, the man was still very strong. He seemed as healthy as he did when he was in his 40s, the age that Okabe and Maho were currently in. Okabe could feel his ribs cracking in response to the hug before he tapped the man's shoulder to drop him. He complied, giving Okabe the chance to finally catch his breath. Luckily for him, he never had the absence of mind to drop the stack of papers in his hand, and they were still safely carried with him.

"Dr. Leskinen," Maho said. "I take it you're the one presiding over the research here?"

She seemed happy to see him, like she was greeting an old friend. Okabe was not convinced that Leskinen was wholly innocent, but he put on a smile nonetheless in order to ensure that the former professor wouldn't be suspicious.

"You don't have to be so formal with me anymore, Maho," he said. "You can call me Alexis. You're not my assistant."

Leskinen smiled before wrapping Maho in a gentler hug than the bear-hug that he put Okabe through. It was odd seeing the two hug as Maho had to get on the tips of her toes while Leskinen had to basically bend over at the waist.

"I could tell from here that you're not comfortable, Okarin," Daru said in his earpiece. "Loosen up a little more."

Maho peeked between Leskinen's arm and body and eyed Okabe with care. Okabe nodded at her and at Daru before he shook off his feeling of anxiety and spoke up for the first time.

"I guess this was too much to stave off retirement, huh?" he asked.

Leskinen released Maho from their hug and faced Okabe. He put his hand behind his had and smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "A friend of mine asked me to help with this case. I took over just a couple nights ago, but I've been enticed since the cases first appeared. It's so odd that they've reappeared 26 years after the first time, don't you think?"

"Of course," Okabe lied. "That's why we're here anyway."

Leskinen's brow twitched a bit before he resumed talking to him. "I presume this is something we want to take to my office?"

Okabe nodded.

"Alright then," Leskinen said. "Follow me, please."

Leskinen walked past them and led them down a corridor that was opposite the one that he had just exited from. They passed by many empty rooms before they landed at the very end of the hall. Leskinen pushed a couple buttons before the door buzzed and slid open automatically.

The room they entered smelled totally sterile. The stench attacked Okabe's nose, but he got over it quickly. It was almost as if the doctor was a clean-freak, and he could believe it. It was all white and the only real decoration was a vase of wilted flowers sitting upon a small table. The door shut behind Okabe as he was the last one to enter, enclosing the three in the room.

"I'm sorry about the current state of the room," Leskinen said. "I would have done a better job at keeping it lively, but I haven't had the chance to redecorate a bit yet."

Leskinen sat down on a swivel chair that was next to his computer. The computer was on a railing that was hanging from the ceiling; he didn't even have a proper desk. He turned the chair away from the computer and toward the pair, crossing his left leg over his right and bringing his hands together to rest on them. His eyes were warm and welcoming, but Okabe was sure that there was still something wrong. Leskinen walked with the same gait, talked in the same tone, and smiled the exact same way. He found it eerie and, if Leskinen turned out to not be like he was on the Beta Attractor Field, very odd.

"So," he said. "What is it you would like to talk about?"

"Well," Maho responded. "With your permission, we'd like to transfer these two patients over to the Neuroscience Institute at Victor Chondria."

Maho signaled toward the stack of papers in Okabe's hands. "These are the transfer papers that we brought on the occasion that you are willing to sign them over to us. I feel like we'd be well-equipped enough to handle the study, don't you think?"

Leskinen stroked his beard, deep in thought.

"To have you, Kurisu, and Rintaro study this over myself would definitely be beneficial to figuring out this mysterious disease much sooner. However, I promised my friend that they'd stay here. We had an issue with a couple of terrorists trying to kidnap them with the possible objective of setting them loose in the populace."

He placed both legs on the ground.

"I mean, we know that New Encephalitis isn't contagious, but those who don't pay attention to the news may get scared to hear that a couple patients with an unknown disease were broken out of this hospital."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Maho said. "But don't you think it's in everyone's best interest to get to the bottom of this disease as soon as possible?"

"Why of course!" Leskinen exclaimed. "If I had total control over what to do with these patients, you know I'd sign them over in a heartbeat!"

Leskinen produced a phone from his pocket. It was slightly smaller than the PhoneDroid, probably a competitor or something. He dialed a number and put the phone up to his ear.

"Because its you two, I'll see if I can get him to bend his knee a bit and help me out."

Leskinen turned his attention toward his phone and began speaking into it. He began talking about how Maho and Okabe were there to transfer the patients over to a more readily capable facility which was the Neuroscience Institute. He began gushing over Maho's credentials and her accomplishments as well as how much of a great all-around person she was. Of course, given his other self's background, Leskinen could only gush about how much of a help he's been in getting projects like the Memory Conversion Machine and Amadeus off the ground. He talked about how Okabe was able to solve the problem with top-down memory search signals, allowing the brain to access implanted memories, thus bringing Amadeus into total sentience. He then talked about the second Einstein, Kurisu Okabe. He confirmed that Kurisu was Okabe's wife and that she was the reason why projects like that were given any attention to begin with. It was quite noticeable that he doted on the two girls as if he were their father while Okabe was like the son-in-law. Of course, given the nature of Kurisu's past, it was quite understandable that Leskinen would be the father figure that she had always searched for since she was little.

He finally got to the point and asked that the man on the phone allow for the transfer to take place. He kept saying "Yes" or "No", not allowing for Okabe to discern what the man was asking for. He couldn't even hear the voice on the other end. Despite the friendliness that the former professor displayed, Okabe was still careful to trust him. Even if his regular slouched, easy-going manner was ever-present, Okabe could feel as if he would turn in the matter of seconds.

"Perfect," Leskinen said. "Thank you."

He hung up the phone and smiled at the two.

"Based off my perfect recitement of your accomplishments, he's willing to sign off all patient rights to Victor Chondria's director."

He looked at Maho. "Congratulations, Maho. It looks like you'll be able to get to the bottom of this odd disease and possibly even get yourself another Nobel Prize in Medicine."

Maho blushed. "I do it for the science, not for the prizes."

"Anyway," Leskinen laughed. "Would you mind taking those papers to Amy? She'll be able to sign off the patients to you and have the transfer ready within the hour. I need to speak to Rintaro for a quick second."

It took all of Okabe's will to not react adversely to Leskinen's request. Maho turned to him, arms outstretched to receive the papers, but also to give him a wary glance at the same time. Okabe handed her the papers without so much as any sort of confirmation between them. She took them and backed out the door, expressing her deepest form of thanks to the former professor before heading down the hall once again. The door then automatically closed, leaving Okabe trapped inside with him.

"Impressive don't you think?" Leskinen spoke as soon as the door closed. "Something like that pops up around the globe in the span of a day, and magically there's now only two recorded cases left."

"You've got to be kidding me," Daru followed Leskinen's train of thought.

Okabe tensed up a little, but it was enough to be noted by the doctor. The gleam in his eye was one of morbid curiosity, as if he was watching an experiment unfold before him and the results he was getting were fascinating. Leskinen crossed his legs again, resting his chin on his palm. He smiled again, but this time there was something else to it that removed from the friendliness he exhibited moments before.

"Don't worry," he said. "There aren't any cameras in here so the Committee doesn't know anything about what's going on in this room, Phoenix."

Leskinen uttering his codename allowed Okabe to react. Now that he knew that Leskinen was aware of who he was, he could drop the act of being friendly with him. He clenched his fists as memories of the Beta Attractor Field began circling his mind.

"Now now," he laughed. "Don't get so defensive. We're still friends, aren't we?"

"That depends, Doctor," Okabe replied. "Do you work for the Committee?"

Okabe was angry and he made his distaste shown. His eyes were narrowed at Leskinen and his teeth were clenched. The experiences that the man before him put him through was enough to make Okabe want to kill him, and it took Okabe everything in his power to not act. His suspicions were confirmed, Leskinen was not an innocent man like he had hoped the Steins Gate World Line would make him out to be.

"Not exactly," he admitted. "They just hired my group to help them do some investigation."

"Stratfor?"

"Wow," he laughed. "It seems like you've done your research on me as well, huh?"

Okabe shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms in order to try and relieve some of the tension he was feeling. He swore he felt like he could crush his own hands under his armpits if he tried hard enough.

"Anyway," he continued. "The Committee hired us to do some digging on you and your little group. You can imagine my amazement when I found out that you were the one behind foiling their plans."

Leskinen got up from his chair and leaned up against the wall across from Okabe. "I'm impressed that you were able to turn SERN away from the Committee as well. If I may ask, how did you do that?"

 _SERN is an extension of Valkyrie!?_ Okabe never knew about that fact.

Thinking about it further, it was the only way he could deduce how Valkyrie could have so many agents active on the field. They were Rounders, converted to do work against the Committee rather than for it. He couldn't help wonder how they were able to achieve such a feat.

"I'm afraid I can't exactly reveal that," Okabe responded. "You're on the Committee's side after all."

"Am I really, though?" Leskinen asked. "If I were on their side, I would have given them your identity quite a couple years ago. Rintaro, I love you like the son I never had, but you know how powerful the Committee is."

He sighed and chose to walk closer to Okabe, putting a careful hand on his shoulder. It took all of Okabe's being to not grab it and twist it until it broke off his elbow. That man was not his father figure, nor would he ever be.

"I would never want to willingly hurt you," Leskinen continued. "But if you choose to do anything to these patients aside from studying them, I'll have no choice but to report you to the Committee. I'm signing them off to Victor Chondria on good faith that you will actually study them so that you can report back to me; that way I can report your findings to the Committee and complete the favor I'm meant to do, and your identity will be safe with me."

"How many of your people know of my identity?"

"Only me," Leskinen said. "Everyone who helped only has pieces of the puzzle, not knowing who has what. They could never piece it together on their own. I'm the only one who can see all the pieces at once, and found you at the center."

Okabe stared back at Leskinen with hatred. He didn't know what kind of relationship he was supposed to have had with the former professor, but the only memories that he currently had of him was the torture and anguish that he was put through at his hands. He held the knowledge that Leskinen was willing to do anything if it meant personal gain, and he could tell that the man in front of him was probably lying out of his teeth just to make it easier for Okabe to surrender.

"I'll give you a chance to think it over," Leskinen said. "You're not going to get a lot of time, but you can spend five minutes thinking about it while you make my coffee. Does that sound fair? The coffee machine is in a corridor just past Amy's desk, it's not hard to miss. I'l take my coffee with some creamer and two packets of sugar."

Okabe clicked his tongue and backed out of the room, forcing Leskinen to pull his hand back.

The hallway was long enough for Okabe to not be heard by any unwanted listeners. He tapped his ear to cancel out Maho's channel and began speaking to Daru.

"Daru, I want you to wipe all the footage of us ever being here once we exit the hospital," he said. "I don't want any trace that we were ever here."

"But Okarin," Daru responded. "What about the girl at the front desk, and Leskinen-shi?"

"Don't worry about it."

Okabe walked out of the hallway and into the reception area. There, Amy was handing Maho what Okabe could only assume the patient files. By Maho's side were a middle-aged woman and a kid who seemed like he was ready to graduate from college.

"Okabe, are we good to go?" Maho asked. "We're just waiting on you."

"Yeah, give me a second," Okabe said. "Just preparing the Doctor's coffee. It's the least we can do."

Okabe walked past the unassuming group of people and headed for the coffee station.

He placed a mug underneath the coffee machine and pressed the button to allow the machine to start brewing. Okabe pulled his pill bottle out of his pouch.

"Black out the cameras around this area for now, Daru," Okabe ordered.

"Okey-dokey," Daru said. "What are you planning, Okarin?"

Okabe ignored Daru's question and produced a pill out of the bottle. He felt the crease in which the pill was put together and dug his nail into it, trying to split the capsule in two. He got the crack he needed and put the pill over the mug, careful to look up as to not let Daru see what he was doing. He looked behind himself just to make sure no one was watching. He split the capsule in half, allowing the contents to flow into the mug and mix together with the coffee. When the machine finally finished pouring the rest of the coffee, Okabe prepared the rest based off Leskinen's specifications. Finally, he mixed all the contents together to make his tampering of the drink complete.

He knew that doing such a thing to Leskinen was cruel, but Okabe understood that he probably deserved it. The pill would give him amnesia, and its permanence was unknown. He had discussed the pills with Kurisu and she said that it lasts until a strong reminder of what the subject had previously known was made apparent to them; that subject not being disclosed to Okabe whatsoever. He just needed Leskinen to forget everything he had learned about Okabe and Valkyrie so that the Committee wouldn't find out. He wasn't about to allow for the uprooting of what Maho and Kurisu had known all their lives in America because of the knowledge that the former professor had over him.

Okabe approached the front desk, but addressed Maho before he did.

"You all can meet me outside," he said. "I'm just getting this done and that'll be it."

"Are you sure?" Maho asked. "We can wait for you a bit longer."

"Go."

"O-okay..." Maho warily gazed at Okabe before herding the patients toward the elevator. "Send Alexis my regards."

The elevator door shut, leaving Okabe alone with Amy.

"Amy, you've prepared the doctor's coffee before, right?"

"Yes, sir! Just a little bit of creamer and two packets of sugar!"

Okabe placed the mug on the table.

"Tell me," he said. "Is this too much creamer?"

Amy grabbed the mug, took a sip, then placed it back down on the table that she acquired it from. Okabe silently watched her reaction as she pursed her lips to try and get the full taste. Moments later he could hear her gasp and put her hand up to her forehead.

"I'm... sorry," she said. "I just got a pretty bad head-"

The gasp turned into a moan of pain, and before long she was ready to scream. Okabe hurriedly placed his hands over her mouth to stifle the scream. He could feel the tears that flowed down her cheeks at the pain that was splitting her head before she slumped over her desk, unconscious.

"O-Okarin!" Daru exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"I'll tell you later," Okabe said before grabbing the coffee and headed toward Leskinen's office.

The door slid open, allowing Okabe in. Leskinen was sitting on the chair, typing something into the computer before turning toward Okabe, leaving his job half-done. Okabe walked in, getting the door to close behind him automatically.

"I take it you've thought about it?"

"Yes," Okabe said as he handed Leskinen the spiked coffee. "I'll do what you ask."

"Good," Leskinen took the coffee and drank two big gulps almost immediately. "I'm glad you've taken that choice, Rintaro. Lord knows I'd hate to report you to the Committee."

"Yeah," Okabe said trying to bide his time. "This isn't for me. This is for Kurisu and Maho to be able to live their lives as normally as possible."

"What a noble thought," Leskinen continued before furrowing his brow and looking at his coffee before looking back at Okabe. "...Did you...ugh..."

Leskinen nearly dropped his coffee, but Okabe caught his arm and took it out of his hand before the mug fell to the floor. The doctor collapsed to the floor, grabbing his head and screaming as loud as his lungs allowed. The floor was totally empty so Okabe let him scream, and he relished in it all. While the doctor was doing that, Okabe peered over at the computer. He noticed that he was working on an email to send to the Committee.

 _Nothing to report_ , it read. _The patients have gone out of my hands to two very capable individuals at Victor Chondria. They will send me the results when they're done with their testing._

Nowhere in the email was a mention of Okabe's identity as the Phoenix. Okabe looked at the email address and made sure that Daru caught it.

"Record that," he said. "I want to know who that is."

"Okey-dokey..." Daru said with less motivation.

Seeing what was happening to Leskinen and Amy probably made Daru hesitant about Okabe's orders, but Okabe hoped he could understand what was being done.

"They're not dying, Daru," he tried comforting the hacker. "Their memories of this day are just being removed."

"Don't tell me," Daru said in disbelief. "You used your Reading Steiner pill on them, didn't you?! You mixed it into his coffee?!"

Daru seemed angry.

"Okarin! We don't know how far back their memories will be removed! Are you seriously okay with tampering with someone's head like that?! I could possibly forgive using it on Leskinen, but Amy-chan?! She's totally innocent!"

"Calm down," Okabe ordered. "They took it in a small dose. Their memories won't be removed as far back as you think. Just enough for Leskinen to forget his mission to find out who I am and his purpose here while Amy just doesn't remember anything of this day."

"I'm still not okay with this..." Daru said.

"I know you aren't," he responded. "Just please, calm down in the meantime and take in all the info we need."

Okabe fished through the now unconscious doctor's pocket and grabbed his already unlocked phone. He flipped through the recent call list and was surprised to find out that Leskinen never called anyone. The fact that he never heard a voice finally clicked into place. Leskinen was behind it all. He was in charge of overseeing the patients from the beginning. This wasn't a favor from a friend, this was an attempt to lure Okabe into his trap and force him to conform to what the Committee wanted out of Leskinen.

He placed the phone back into the doctor's pocket. Memories of the Beta Attractor Field began surfacing. All that was in his mind was when Mayuri disappeared with Suzuha in the time machine and his total hopelessness. He remembered when the machine couldn't take off in time and was blown up in the process, forcing him to time-leap. In response to it all, he downed the rest of the coffee, trying to get rid of it all. Moments later, his vision and hearing cleared.

"You good to go now, Okarin?" he heard Daru ask.

"Yeah," he said.

Okabe made his way to the door. "Maho sends her regards, Alexis."

He walked back to the front desk where Amy was still unconscious. He grabbed the paperwork that showed that LA County General was transferring the patient rights over to Victor Chondria, erasing the last couple physical traces that he was ever present in the building. He took off his labcoat and folded it over the papers, covering them and removing the inconspicuousness that he presented himself with before walking toward the elevator and pressing the button to head to the first floor lobby.

At this point, Okabe was happy. He finally got to make his torturer suffer just as much as he was forced to suffer. He never gave thought to just how important the professor probably was to his past self as well as Maho and Kurisu, and happily whistled to himself instead. What he had done was out of pure instinct and cold-heartedness that emerged from World War III than it was rational thinking that should come with living in the Steins Gate World Line.

The elevator dinged, signaling his arrival to the first floor. He walked out into the lobby and out of the hospital, papers in hand.

Operation Vanir was complete, and Okabe was able to revel in the satisfaction that was giving Leskinen a taste of his own medicine.

He saw the car that Kurisu had brought them in and headed toward it, walking across the parking lot with the most confident step he had ever since arriving on the world line.

"Footage wiped," Daru said. "No one from the outside will ever know you visited the hospital."

"Good."

Okabe entered the front of the car, leaving Maho in the back with the two patients.

"How'd it go?" Kurisu asked.

"It went perfectly fine," Okabe responded. "I'll tell you more about it once we get home."

Kurisu nodded and started the car. Okabe rested his head back into the seat and sighed a satisfied sigh. The mission was complete, and that was all that mattered to him at that current moment.

* * *

 **A/N: Whew! That was a long one - actually, that was my longest yet! It was finally one of those plot-filled chapters that I'm sure you guys were waiting for. Well, what do you think? It's a moral dilemma, and Okabe walked right into it. Was he in the right to drug Leskinen the way he did, even though the Beta Attractor Field never happened? Should Okabe's suffering at Leskinen's hand in Beta have any influence on how he treats the professor on the Steins Gate World Line?**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. I had fun writing it, from the flashback to finally diving deep into the war-hardened character that is the current Okabe. I gotta express my thanks to DapperT for helping me make the flashback roll as smoothly as it did, without him, it probably wouldn't sound as good as it does.**

 **As always, thank you all for following this story! It really does mean a lot! Don't hesitate to write a review either, I want to know what you guys think!**

 **Regards,**

 **Quil~**


	14. Test Subject

**A/N: Welcome to another flashback. I just got back from a trip out of town a couple days ago, and I didn't have my computer with me, so I couldn't post on time for the anniversary of the story like I had wanted to. While I have time, I was torn between two flashbacks, so I merely decided to expand one into its own chapter for the sake of giving both the screentime they deserve before the story continues since they're both pretty important.**

 **However, I must warn you now.**

 ** _THIS FLASHBACK SPOILS A MAJORITY OF CHAOS;CHILD AND SOME OF CHAOS;HEAD. IF YOU INTEND ON READING EITHER VISUAL NOVEL OR ARE INTERESTED IN READING THESE WORKS, THEN DO_ NOT _READ THIS CHAPTER UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED. WHILE I WON'T SPECIFY WHAT'S A SPOILER AND WHAT'S NOT. IF YOU WANT TO BE SAFE, JUST GO AHEAD AND SKIP TO THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM WHERE I WILL EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS I GOT IN A RECENT REVIEW._**

 **Other than that. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Date: January 1, 2017**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 19 years, 10 months, 13 days.**_

Wakui woke up with a start. When he did, he was seated on a chair with something heavy resting atop his head. He tried moving around, but he found that straps held him in place, his arms being bound behind his back and his legs being tied together. He gathered himself and found he was in a well-lit, clean room that reminded him of the basement he used in Hekiho Academy. It was bright, so much so that it hurt his eyes to open them for too long. He groaned in pain as he tried to recall just what had exactly happened that got him into such a situation.

He remembered being in Takuru Miyashiro's cell, watching him after his previous attempt to secure his spot in the New World had been foiled by that damned stubborn Mio Kunosato. He was sitting there watching him, now having nothing to do, waiting for him to display the Gigalomania that he once previously had before he gave it all up to "save" Serika Onoe. Two people in the span of six years gave up their amazing powers for selfless goals, something that he himself was unable to wrap his head around. Gigalomania was like God was gracing those individuals lucky enough with his very own powers to do with the world as they could, and Takumi Nishijou and Takuru Miyashiro both gave those powers up.

Then, a madman appeared in the cell, almost as if he had just appeared out of thin air. He recognized that man - rather, child - to be Rintaro Okabe. Wakui was his senior, and he knew exactly the kind of little shit that Okabe was capable of being. To have him appear in that cell with Miyashiro angered Wakui to no end, forcing him to reveal himself. Okabe belittled him, and dared speak to his subject of interest as if he were a totally normal kid. That damned idiot was always getting in the way, so far back as high school when he dared confess to a girl in his class, Sakura Yamamoto - the same Sakura who Wakui expressed interest in! Okabe was in the first class while Wakui was on the verge of graduating, and there he was making a mockery of him from the get-go. He went through an entire year of Okabe treating him with no respect before he was finally able to graduate and abandon Ikebukuro. He resented him, so he had to reveal himself to make him suffer.

But then everything happened so quickly afterwards. One minute he was berating Okabe and threatening him with his Di-Sword adn the next he saw a flash of pink followed by his mind seeming to collapse in on itself.

He tried his best to envision his Di-Sword so that he could break out of his binds, but no matter what he did, he always failed and his brain seemed to have wanted to melt into a puddle in his skull each time he tried. He was getting frustrated and cursed himself out loud for putting himself in such a situation. It was embarrassing and now the Committee was certainly not going to give him any mercy when it came to judgement for those who wished to be a part of the New World.

"I never thought you'd be so critical of yourself, Wakui," he heard a deep voice say from in front of him.

Wakui opened his eyes. Right before him was a man clad in a white labcoat, making him blend almost entirely in with the very pale room that he was stuck in. He couldn't believe that he didn't notice him before. The man's hair was jet-black and it was slicked back. Seeing the hair and the labcoat made Wakui instantly recognize just who was talking to him.

"Okabe-kun..."

The damned kid didn't even use honorifics. Wakui was his _senpai_ in high school, but Okabe never even acknowledged it, not even when he had first met Wakui all those years ago. Wakui grit his teeth.

"Seems to be quite the bind you're stuck in," he chuckled. "Can't break out?"

"I swear I'm going to enjoy your screams once I get out of this embarassing position," Wakui snapped. "I will pull you apart limb-by-limb, cell-by-cell. By the time I'm done with you, you will be begging to die, you hear me?"

"I'd like to see you try," Okabe practically goaded him into the act.

Wakui tried envisioning his Di-Sword once more. He wanted to see the wickedly beautiful weapon flash behind Okabe, envelop him in between both its blades, and cut him in half like scissors, but no matter how hard he tried deluding the Di-Sword, his head was wracked with unimaginable pain. He screamed in desperate anger as he continously tried, but to no avail.

"W-what the hell did you do to me?!" Wakui yelled at Okabe.

He was always a disheveled man, and playfully so, but he was having no fun or entertainment being Okabe's little torture pet. One look at Wakui and it's obvious that something snapped in him. His eyes, once so full of joy, were now intently focused on Okabe, as if they belonged to a ravenous beast. His teeth were clenched angrily at the man who only managed to laugh at Wakui's question. His unkempt hairstyle was nowhere to be seen, as it was all kept underneath something that was stuck on his head.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

He looked at his head before pointing his eyes at the idiotic child who was still laughing as if Wakui had told some sort of joke.

"Who would have known it could work so well!?" Okabe threw his head back in laughter.

Wakui was confused enough to knock him out of his rage-filled stupor. He sat back into his chair, feeling the restraints loosen their grip on his arms and legs. All the struggling he did restricted many blood pathways and he could feel all of his extremities numb from the lack of bloodflow.

"That thing on your head is the product of many nights of studying by a girl genius," Okabe pointed at Wakui's head. "And here we are testing it out for the first time!"

Okabe threw his head back in laughter. "This is truly what mad science is supposed to be, don't you think!? Here I am, risking my life, verifying that an invention created by my very own assistant works as intended!"

 _He's insane,_ Wakui thought to himself.

He was about to speak before another voice emerged from the void of white. It was a female voice, higher pitched, almost like that girl, Serika Onoe, when she used her fake, fun-loving voice around her clubmates at Hekiho. He didn't recognize it at all, nor did he see where the figure that it belonged to was.

"You give yourself too much credit, Okarin-san," she said. "It doesn't hurt to be honest, you know?"

A girl walked toward Okabe from behind Wakui. She didn't wear a labcoat, instead wearing simple streetwear: a grey sweatshirt and a blue miniskirt with black stockings. She skipped over toward Okabe and turned around. Such a motion caused her pink, vibrant hair, to whip up before settling itself on her shoulders.

"S-Sakura," Okabe tried recovering from a seeming blow to his manhood. "It's not Okarin. It's Hououin Kyouma!"

Hearing the name Sakura made Wakui grit his teeth. He was also very confused. If that person was indeed Sakura Yamamoto, then her hair should be short and black, not long and pink. Her body was also smaller compared to the girl he used to have a crush on.

 _He's messing with me. He knows why I began hating him in the first place. I can only really conclude that this girl isn't Saku- wait what the hell am I doing thinking these kinds of things? I should be killing him,_ Wakui thought.

"You tell me to refer to you by some fake name while you can't even say _my_ name properly," she sighed. "Taku told me you were a handful to deal with, but you're really hurting my feelings right now, Okarin-san."

While both of them were arguing about the most childish things, Wakui imagined the girl picking up her hands and snapping her own, slim, tender neck. Once he got the image in his head, he began trying to look for his Di-Sword so that he could force that delusion into her head as well as Okabe's head. He wouldn't allow himself to be distracted by the pain and worked through it, confirming his will to make the man who put him into such a position suffer. However, the pain quickly became too much to bear as his skull felt like it would split in half if he tried continuing, forcing him to collapse once more in his chair.

The pair's bickering halted as they watched Wakui breathe heavily from the toll his efforts racked on his brain.

"Wakui-san," the girl whose name wasn't Sakura said. "You're not _actually_ this dense, are you?"

Wakui looked up at her.

"That thing on your head doesn't let you make use of your Gigalomania in the slightest. It's working far better than I expected, too."

"What?"

"Tell me, you didn't see my Di-Sword across your throat when you first woke up, did you?"

Wakui's eyes widened before he began frantically looking around for a sign of that girl's Di-Sword. That's what she meant by Okabe giving himself too much credit. Had their experiment gone wrong, she'd have seen his Di-Sword before he could realboot it and killed him.

"Don't bother looking around. It's in my hands right now."

Wakui's head snapped in the direction of the girl who had her hands clasped in front of her, but there was nothing in between them. She was smiling at him, but it wasn't a wicked smile, it was just like the smile of a girl who was naturally a caring and kind person. Wakui grew to resent her more and more for every second she looked at him with those innocent, almost tender eyes. He wanted to kill her just as bad as he wanted to kill Okabe.

"You must be a fool if you can't see the sword," Okabe piped up. "Such an elegant, long blade. Expected from such a mythical sword such as Gram. Of course, only those worthy of seeing it can do so, and I imagine that you aren't worthy of seeing such a beautiful weapon."

Wakui didn't take Okabe seriously and it was obvious that the girl didn't either.

"You're so off the mark, it's embarrassing, Okarin-san," she said. "No one is intimidated by Mr. Maddo Scientisto, and it's even worse when you try to pretend to have Gigalomania in front of _actual_ Gigalomaniacs."

"Huh?!" it seemed Okabe was legitimately offended. "I'll have you know that I impose enough authority to make that girl, Kunosato Mio, quiver in that stupid second-rate labcoat of hers!"

Mio Kunosato. Hearing that name made Wakui's blood boil worse than it did whenever he had to endure Okabe's attacks. That damned girl had the audacity to ruin his plans on pleasing the Committee so that he could secure his spot in the New World. He let her off with a warning when she tried going behind his back to use his machinery beneath Hekiho Academy without asking, and mocked her at the same time because she was playing right into the Committee's plans, but then she interfered with his delusion that would have transformed Shibuya. If it weren't for her, he'd have risen past just a simple agent for the Committee and into something more that fit the kind of determined man that he was.

"Kunosato-kun put you up to this, didn't she?" Wakui questioned. "That brat doesn't know when to quit."

"I'm not inclined to answer to a test subject," Okabe retorted. "You've lost your chance to get answers when you sided with the Committee, Wakui. However, your job from here on out is easy. All you have to do is take this pill."

Okabe produced a cylindrical capsule out of seeming thin air. A simple sleight of hand trick that anyone could have done with that lab coat of his. The capsule was a vibrant blue, and Okabe ensured to show it off in all of its "glory" to Wakui.

"Now, open your mouth," Okabe ordered as he approached Wakui.

Wakui clamped his mouth shut. He wasn't going to allow himself to be experimented on, especially when it came to things that are supposed to be ingested. He didn't know what side-effects that pill was supposed to have and he wasn't going to give Okabe the pleasure of finding out.

"Wakui-san," the girl behind Okabe called out. "You're making this harder than it has to be."

When she finished her statement, Wakui could feel his mouth go through the motion of opening. He could feel as if some invisible force was prying his mouth open and taking his tongue out. It was here that he understood that the girl was using her delusionary powers to force him to take these actions. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He screamed in terror, something that he never thought he'd be put in the position to do. He wanted to live. He wasn't going to be taken down by a couple of idiots trying to mess with something that they cannot comprehend.

Okabe chortled in response to Wakui's screams before he devolved into full-blown maniacal laughter. There's no way he was capable of doing this. This was cruel beyond compare. This broke several laws. He could be imprisoned for life if it got out - _if_ it got out. His eyes stared at the madman's sneering face.

"Look at what you've done, Rimi! He's crying!" Okabe continued laughing.

Wakui could feel tears wet his cheeks as they flowed out of his eyes. His mouth was still wide open in wait for the pill. Okabe leaned down next to Wakui's ear and spoke in a low voice for only them two to hear.

"I could practically hear you begging for mercy, Wakui," it was a low, threatening tone. "You're in no place to be able to receive it."

Wakui eyed him, terrified.

"Testing on _children_ , allowing The Return of the New Generation Madness to run its course, thus allowing the murder of _kids._ You're a despicable human being. What I'm about to do to you is _nothing_ compared to what has happened under your supervision. Consider _that_ as your mercy."

Okabe produced a tape recorder from his pocket and began speaking into it.

"This is Hououin Kyouma speaking. I will be administering the first test of the Memory Pill developed by my assistant, Christina, on our first test subject that isn't me, Shuichi Wakui. Today is January 1st, 2017. The dosage will be a 750 milligram capsule. Once administered, observations will be made monthly in order to observe how long the effects of the pill last. Administering test now. El Psy Kongroo."

Okabe stuffed the tape recorder back into his pocket and faced Wakui once more, pill in hand. All Wakui could do was fearfully watch as he placed the pill on his tongue, and felt his tongue roll back into his mouth. This control of delusionary power was unnatural. This girl was something else. But all Wakui could think about was what Okabe had said.

 _Memory Pill? Is he going to erase my memories?!_

He felt his throat muscles contract as it worked the pill into his esophagus. He finally felt himself regain control of his mouth, but the pill had already passed the point of no return. Wakui tried inducing vomiting through sheer willpower, but he was unable to.

"What did you do?!" he screamed. "What did you do?!"

He was panicking now, but he couldn't panic for long.

Almost instantly, he felt an incredibly sharp pain, that only got sharper in his head. It was worse than the pain he felt when he couldn't delude his own Di-Sword, forcing him to shut his eyes in response. He wasn't going to allow this to happen. He'd rather die than experience this.

Wakui opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. He then slammed it shut, in attempt to bite his tongue off, and he was successful. He felt the iron taste of blood fill his mouth, blocking his ability to breathe properly.

"You idiot!" Okabe screamed at him. "The fate in store for you is better than death, damn it!"

Wakui smiled meakly at Okabe as his mouth continued filling with blood. He finally got Okabe to crack. At the very least, he'd greet death with a smile on his face, knowing that he was at least able to get what he want. He closed his eyes as he felt his body getting weaker.

"You really enjoy making this hard, don't you?" Rimi said. "While I admire your will, I'm afraid I can't let you go that easy, Wakui-san."

From one second to the next, what was once blood became apple juice, and Wakui couldn't feel his tongue be cut anymore. The damned girl repaired his body on the spot using her delusionary powers.

"You're a monster!" Wakui screamed, spitting out the apple juice in the process. "Argh! No - no one should be able to use their Gigalomania so accurately!"

Wakui screamed as the pain in his head got sharper.

"I had help from Nishijou Takumi before he passed on," Rimi's voice was almost somber. "This is my way of repaying Taku for helping me move on from the boy that created him and find myself in my new life. I won't fail, no matter how hard you try to make me."

Wakui felt himself reaching his limit. Any second now, he'd pass out. He grit his teeth with tears in his eyes. Now, there was no way he'd be useful to the Committee. They'd disown him, but he probably wouldn't know about it if his prediction about what the pill was, was correct.

Before his eyes shut one last time, he could hear the footsteps against the solid floor going away from him. He got one final word of goodbye.

"Happy New Year, Wakui-san," Rimi said. "I hope you sleep well."

Then, nothingness.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed that little segment. While it may not feel important now, it's necessary information to be able to understand the next chapter when I pull the story back to 2036.**

 ** _IF YOU SKIPPED TO_** _**HERE**_ , **all that's really happened is that Okabe tested his Reading Steiner pill on his first test subject, trying to observe some results. Needless to say, this isn't morally wrong because his test subject objectively deserved it, unlike Leskinen in the last chapter. This took me a while to write only because of how long I was out of town. I totally planned this to be released on the anniversary of the story, but real life got in the way suddenly, and I couldn't avoid it.**

 **I got a question in a review (Nidone) in regards to a retroactive change I made in chapter 1. If you've begun reading this from when I first published the story, and you reread it now, you'll notice a couple changes I made in a couple chapters in order to keep it all consistent. When I first began writing _Overwritten_ , I was nowhere near as knowledgeable in regards to SciADV content as I am now, so I'm just fixing a couple of contradictions I've made from observed canon. The notable change that was mentioned was Okabe's motivation to fight on Valkyrie. After getting as much info as I could on (the cancelled) Committee of Antimatter, I found no mention of Okabe ever participating in fighting the Committee like Daru, only opting for the small-scale stuff. Using that knowledge, I wrote the flashback for chapter 12 and made a couple changes to chapter 1 to fit that.**

 **Just two more arcs and we're finished ladies and gentlemen. This year-long journey is gonna come to a close at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2019. Just wanted to get that out there, as I know it can feel like I can work on this project forever with all the content I can work with, but I have my eyes on other premises within Steins;Gate that I want to try my hand at. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my work, as always, it means so much to me that people are entertained by this stuff.**

 **Chapter 13 is in the works! Thank you for sticking around this long, and I hope you stick around until the end! I know I will!**

 **-Quil~**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: All characters are owned by Chiyomaru Studio. Without Chiyo's mind, I wouldn't have the opportunity to write this fic.**

 **Spoilers to a twist in Chaos;Child is gonna be shown. Read at your own risk.**

 **Anyway, here's Chapter 13!**

* * *

 _ **Date: September 10, 2031**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)**_

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 5 years, 2 months, 4 days.**_

Leskinen eyed the three men before him, stroking his beard as he did so. They were all strapped to their own chairs, only because of the fact that he was in the room with them. He was well aware of what kind of men they were and it took everything in his power to not be disgusted at the sight of them, but he had to swallow down that disgust so that he could get his mission done.

 _Mission..._ Leskinen could only laugh at that thought.

It wasn't a mission; it wasn't an assignment; it was a threat against his life. He knew it quite well, and he had no choice but to see this "mission" to its completion just so that he and his loved ones could continue living.

Several years prior, the Committee of 300 tasked him - rather Strategic Focus - to find the ever-elusive Phoenix. They never really bothered him about it until they sent one of their lackeys to try and intimidate him into picking up the pace. Until he actually started looking for the damned person-of-interest did he realize just how well they covered their tracks. The only reason why he was even facing these men was because he was desperate, and Stratfor was able to pick up on the fact that they kept blabbering about some man called "Phoenix" coming after them when they were interrogated by the Japanese authorities.

Now, back on US soil, he could only hope that this encounter would lead to some sort of results as to finding out just who The Phoenix is or where exactly they operated from. He wanted freedom for himself just as much as he wanted to ensure that his little Einsteins were not harmed as a result of his inaction. He'd never forgive himself if he failed to protect those three: Maho, Okabe, and Kurisu. It was hard enough as it was, retiring from the university when the Committee tasked him with the assignment, and disappearing without explaining anything to all three of them, but he had to do it just so that they wouldn't be implicated in any of the trouble that might be wrought when attempting to find the Commitee's worst enemy. However, now that he had to _actually_ act, it only made it harder for him to not get any more stressed and keep his composure.

There was a table separating the three men from him. Everyone was seated, and this was a "black room" so no information could ever leak out. It was a bare, gray, stone room. It wasn't exactly big, but it wasn't uncomfortably small either. The only adornments to the room were the three leather chairs that the men were strapped to, and Leskinen's spartan-like metal folding chair. Four, plain, concrete walls surrounded them. No cameras. No microphones. Only Alexis Leskinen himself was going to be able to piece together just who The Phoenix was. He knew they operated in Japan to the point that they managed to almost totally remove the Committee's influence over the area. Not even the politicians that the Committee tried seating gained any popularity with the people because of that counter-organization's interference. Now, he's seen that same influence make its way across the United States and parts of Europe. While the European movement wasn't as noticeable as the one on US soil, it was concentrated in one _big_ piece of the Committee that was formerly theirs - SERN.

Now, The Phoenix was practically everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He could only hope that he'd be able to pinpoint just who they were.

"So," he started. "You three claim to have seen a man codenamed Phoenix, correct?"

He spoke in Japanese. He hated having to speak it because he felt like a fool whenever he did, but it was necessary considering these men were all Japanese with hardly any lick of English in them.

"Y-yes," the man farthest to his left spoke up after a brief silence. "I'm sure that he's that guy you're looking for."

"And?" Leskinen delved further. "How do you know that this man is The Phoenix we're looking for."

All three men looked at each other anxiously. Well, the one in the middle tried to despite the extensive bandages that were wrapped around his face. The one on the farthest left, the one who answered him, had a sling around his shoulder and a black eye. The last one on the far right walked in with crutches, but he seemed to have faired whatever the trio went through better than his other friends.

Leskinen didn't appreciate their hesitance. "My men have already told you that you'd be awarded mightily for any identifying information, didn't we? We're not law enforcers. You can tell us anything. We only care about who The Phoenix is, nothing more."

"W-we were chasing after a woman," the one in the middle impulsively responded. As a result of his bandages covering his nose and basically everything from the top half of his head save for his eyes, he came off as very nasally. "She called someone on her phone to help her. I distinctly hear her saying something along the lines of 'Phoenix, help me.'"

He got interested. This was the best lead he had, and he wasn't going to squander it.

"Did you happen to catch the name of this woman?"

The man on the left responded. "When the guy came, he called her name out a bunch. I think it was...Kurisu?"

Leskinen froze. All of the gears that were turning as he tried deducing just who The Phoenix was, ground to a halt at the mention of Kurisu's name. He looked at all three of them, the three deplorables. All three were previously arrested on charges of sexual assault, but they served their time and got out. He could only assume just why they were chasing after Kurisu. It took all of his experience and morality to not lose face and kill the three men where they sat.

"Was there any reason in particular that you were chasing after this woman? Did she wrong you in any way? Steal? Maybe provoked a reaction out of you three?" Leskinen went off on a tangent just to verify what happened.

"N-no," the bandaged one responded. "We were chasing her because she had a nice body."

The statement warranted cold stares from his two friends. Leskinen was sure that if they weren't bound to their seats, they'd have hit him as hard as they could to shut him up. Leskinen would have appreciated if he himself was bound because it'd make it easier to not tear the man in front of him apart with his own hands.

"W-what?" the man said in reply to the stares he got. "This guy just said he's not with the police, so it's okay for us to talk about it if it means we get our money, right?"

"He could be lying, idiot," the man on the far right finally broke his silence. "You just had to open your fucking mouth."

"Now now," Leskinen closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm not with any sort of law enforcement so what you three do in your free time doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just want information on The Phoenix."

It was a bold-faced lie. Leskinen was used to lying to get what he needed, but this was one of those lies that was the hardest for him to tell without boiling over in seething rage.

"I wouldn't imagine you three chasing the woman in that state," Leskinen continued. "Did something happen afterwards?"

"We cornered her so that we could pay her back for the wrong she did against us," the man on the far left very obviously lied. "In the middle of doing so, a guy who said that she was his wife came out of nowhere and started a fight with us. We gave him a good beating, but he got away with her and he gave us these souvenirs in the process."

The man on the far right stifled a laugh. "You wish that was how it went."

"How'd it actually go?" Leskinen asked.

"Well, same start. We cornered the girl, and in the middle of doing our business, some guy in a labcoat claiming to be her husband ambushed us. If I remember correctly, the girl called him Okarin or something. He proceeded to beat the everloving shit out of us, tied us up, and then got out."

The man on the far left tensed up at the revelation of the truth. No expression could be made out from the man in the middle because his face was covered. Leskinen leaned back in his chair.

 _Rintaro,_ Leskinen knew without a doubt that the man called Okarin was Okabe himself. He was no-doubt surprised that Okabe was capable of single-handedly incapacitating all these men, but all the facts about him lined up. _No, but wait. He might be associated to that counter-organization, but there's no way to know for sure whether or not he's The Phoenix._

"Okay," Leskinen said. "But that doesn't prove that he's The Phoenix, does it? He might have just followed you three while you chased her or something."

"No," the man on the right responded. "The girl dropped her phone when she called Phoenix, and I distinctly heard his voice when I picked it up. That voice on the phone was the same voice as the guy who kicked our asses."

The revelation brought the whole world crashing down upon Leskinen. He desperately wanted to know just who The Phoenix was just so that he could get the Committee off his back, but to know that Okabe was The Phoenix?

He felt trapped. He didn't want to betray his loved ones, nor did he want to die. He knew that if he reported Okabe to the Committee, he'd inadvertently put Kurisu in danger just because she was married to Okabe. He grit his teeth as he tried thinking about ways to get the Committee off his back without getting Okabe involved. He almost forgot just where he was before he was brought back to reality.

"So, uh," the man in the middle spoke up. "That's good enough, right? Did that help you find out just who the Phoenix was?"

Leskinen surveyed the three once more. They were rapists, degenerates, scum, and they were also the bearers of the bad news that Leskinen wished he never had to learn. He proceeded to walk toward the door.

"I'll bring my men in here to free you and compensate you," Leskinen said. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Leskinen got out of the room to the two people with guns that were standing beside the door. There was no way to be able to figure out just what anyone was talking about in that room as the door and concrete didn't allow sound to escape.

"Did you find out what you needed, sir?" one of the men asked. His voice sounded high. He was probably just a kid.

"Sadly, no," Leskinen said. "We'll just have to keep searching."

"What do we do with those three?" the other soldier asked. His voice was deeper and more commanding. He was obviously one of the higher-ups.

"Kill them," Leskinen ordered. "And dump them in Death Valley while you're at it. We don't want anyone finding their bodies anywhere close to here."

"Sir, yes sir," both men responded without questioning the order and walked into the room.

Leskinen walked away, knowing entirely what was going to happen. All he had to do was find some way to corner Okabe and explain the situation without triggering a reaction out of him. He was dangerous, but he wanted to ensure that the person who came to be his friend understood the situation that Leskinen was trapped in. In the meantime, he had to find alternatives to satisfy the Committee so that they wouldn't kill him for not complying.

* * *

"Well, this _looks_ like the best one you've made over these past three days," Kurisu said apologetically.

Okabe could only stare at the goopy monstrosity that was sitting on the plate he had set. It was filled with bubbles and held almost no form as it seemed to just spread out all across the plate.

 _Oh how the tables have turned,_ he though to himself.

No matter what, he always remembered that Kurisu was so hopelessly bad at cooking that he could do _anything_ and his food would turn out better than hers. However, looking at the sorry excuse of an omelette that was sitting on his plate forced him to re-assess his confidence in his ability to cook better than Kurisu. Sure, his other self would have faired just fine, but as a victim of World War III, Okabe just wasn't allowed the luxury of being able to eat much cooked food, and when cooks were needed, those tasks were relegated to Yuki and the other girls.

It had been three days since Operation Vidar was completed. Maho pulled strings with the university's higher-ups to get Okabe and Kurisu some days off, allowing for another professor to take his spot in the lecture hall. Maho didn't want to hear any complaining from the two of them, citing the fact that Okabe needed time to get used to the new world he found himself in, and she wouldn't allow him to come back until she knew he was comfortable. Now, Kurisu's been putting him to work, trying to make a normal man out of the mad scientist from World War III.

"Why do I have to keep making these?" he asked her. "Do we seriously _only_ eat omelettes for breakfast?"

"No," Kurisu said as she grabbed a spoon from the drawer next to them. "But I've had these unstoppable cravings for eggs and cheese lately so I really need my omelettes lest both you and I suffer from my withdrawals."

She scooped up a piece of the omelette despite Okabe's protests and stuck it in her mouth, savoring the taste and texture. She swallowed without much effort and licked the corners of her lips.

"Delicious," she said without a hint of sarcasm. "You just have to work on the texture and your flipping skills."

"Addict."

"I don't know how you people treated each other in World War III," Kurisu began a sarcastic response. "But that is not a nice thing to call someone, especially your partner, dimwit."

"You say that as the word 'dimwit' falls right out of your mouth!" Okabe retorted. "Why are you allowed to call me names and I can't do the same?"

"Four words, Okarin. I. Am. Your. Wife," Kurisu shoveled another piece of "omelette" into her mouth. "I'm always right, so it's in your best interest to listen to me, unless you don't want to be rewarded."

"Rewarded?" Okabe asked. "Rewarded with what, a shiny badge that says 'good job'?"

Kurisu gently placed the spoon down onto the pan and looked at Okabe once more. Her usually dull eyes gleamed under her glasses as she stared at him. Okabe felt like a piece of meat being gawked at by some wild animal.

"Let's use some simple logic here, Okarin," she said in a purr. "You and me. Husband and wife. Now, tell me, what is it that loving couples do together and always seem to enjoy no matter what?"

Okabe gulped. This was a totally different woman than the one that was drilling him into trying to make an omelette. She scared Okabe, but he couldn't help feel attracted to her at the same time. He wanted to see where this sudden situation he found himself would lead, but he wasn't just going to let Kurisu take the lead the way she was. He got an epiphany, and stood his ground.

"Christina," he said. "Your inner 2channeler seems to be leaking out."

 _Wait,_ Okabe wondered. _Why did I say that?!_

Predictably, Kurisu froze up, and the foxy act she was putting on dropped as suddenly as it appeared. She then crossed her arms and pouted her usual pout whenever she got upset at Okabe for doing anything that annoyed her. Whatever thoughts at his failure to continue the flow of flirtation vanished when he saw the pout. It was childish, but it brought Okabe back to that endless summer. While the cycle of having to watch Mayuri die over and over again was prevalent, he could never forget the infinite amount of time he spent with Kurisu in those three weeks.

Kurisu was about to yell at Okabe, probably for bringing up 2chan around her, and all Okabe could do was smile. The past three days he spent getting back into the swing of things in a peaceful world were nothing like those three weeks, but he finally felt normal for once. Nothing in regards to Valkyrie. Nothing in regards to the university. Nothing in regards to World War III. This little bubble of time he resided in was his personal paradise, and the angel that accompanied him was none other than Kurisu Makise - er Okabe - herself. The woman before him may have had glasses, her hair may have been trimmed down to shoulder-length and may have gotten a couple gray hairs due to her age, but she was still that girl he fell in love with.

"Okarin?" Kurisu asked, forgoing the verbal abuse.

 _To think that all it took was a pout,_ Okabe thought to himself.

He was about to respond to her, but he saw her eyes widen before she covered her mouth. She bolted from her spot next to the stove, past Okabe, and down the hall. She practically kicked their bedroom door down, and ran into it.

"Kurisu?!"

Okabe followed after her, nearly matching the pace she set. Was it the Committee? Had they poisoned her? Okabe shook those chuuni thoughts out of his head. It was obviously a result of the "omelette" he cooked, but he couldn't help feeling worried for her. The door slid open in response to the movement allowing him into the bedroom. The sheets were done, a chore that Kurisu had set for Okabe before she forced him into the kitchen to try his hand at cooking.

Kurisu was nowhere in sight.

Okabe walked past the television set and into the bathroom. Luckily - or unluckily - for him, it was a walk-in bathroom, so there was no door in sight.

He peered into the toilet area where Kurisu practically had her head dipped into the toilet as she was heaving out the contents of her stomach. It was a sickly sight. The dominatingly attractive woman was reduced to _that,_ and Okabe could hardly bear to watch. No matter what, he could never get used to people puking, even though it was prevalent due to radiation poisoning when a nuclear-tipped missile hit Shibuya on the Beta Attractor Field.

"K-Kurisu?" Okabe asked, plugging his nose. "Are you okay?"

The only response was more heaving.

 _I've done it again,_ Okabe thought. _I've just killed Kurisu. Again._

The fact that he could think of such a joke without devolving into madness made Okabe feel better about his mental state. Maho could easily tell that it was in tatters, and that he needed time in order to regain his footing. He could only thank her for giving him the break he needed from everything.

A couple more seconds passed before Kurisu's face was visible from the toilet bowl. A line of drool connected her to it, forcing Okabe to gulp down whatever food was surfacing in his throat out of pure disgust. She grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth with it before throwing it into the toilet and flushing it along with whatever she threw up.

She sat there, almost as if she was waiting for anything else to come up.

"W-was it the omelette?" Okabe timidly asked from behind the jutted part of the wall that hid the toilet area from sight.

"No," Kurisu said weakly. "The omelette was just fine."

She managed to get that out before she heaved again, but thanks to having a sense of hearing, Okabe didn't hear anything hit water. He heard her take a deep breath, prompting Okabe to peek over the wall once more.

"You think you got it all out?" Okabe felt his confidence rise at the lack of any more stomach contents coming out of Kurisu.

Kurisu coughed a bit. "..Yeah"

"Alright, let's get your teeth brushed and lay you down, shall we?"

Okabe held his breath as he helped Kurisu up from her position. He walked her over to the sink and helped her into the sink where the high-pressure mixture of water and some minty paste shot into Kurisu's mouth. She moved her head, getting to hit every part of her mouth that she could get it to hit.

Once that was done, Okabe guided Kurisu back into the room and got her into bed, putting the covers over her.

"I'm sorry for making you do this," Kurisu said. "This is the worst nausea spell I've had."

"Was that the first time you ever felt naseous?"

"No," Kurisu replied. "I've had it for a week now, but it's never gotten to the point where I had to throw up."

Okabe knew this situation all too well thanks to his experience on the Beta Attractor Field. He was the one that was by another woman's side when everything went down, and he even accompanied her doctors when she was due. That woman of course, was Yuki.

"Kurisu," Okabe said. "Did you and I ever..."

Kurisu looked at him questioningly. No matter how hard he tried to avoid saying it, there was no way for her to actually know what he was talking about unless he spelled it out for her.

"Did we have sex in this past month or so?"

There was no other way for Okabe to put it without addressing the point in its entirety. The mention of sex made Kurisu a little flustered. She sat up quickly and got red in the face, almost as if she were embarassed over a totally natural thing to do with a loving partner. Then again, she still probably wasn't entirely used to him being her husband instead of the man who _actually_ saved her life.

"W-what are you implying?" Kurisu asked trying to avoid the somehow uncomfortable question.

"I'll tell you what I'm implying when you answer the question."

"W-wait," she looked at him as if looking for guidance. "Are you telling me that I might be pregnant?"

Naturally, Kurisu was able to come up with the answer Okabe was looking for without much help. Granted, it seemed pretty obvious to him because of how closely he had to follow Yuki's pregnancy, but he didn't know how obvious it would be to someone like Kurisu. The extreme mood swings, cravings, and now this nausea practically spelled it out for him at this point.

The look on Kurisu's face was a mixture of shock and muted excitement. While these symptoms seemed to have confirmed it, he could tell that she wasn't entirely sure whether or not she actually _did_ have a baby growing inside of her.

Kurisu shot out of bed, and started rifling through her nightstand. Her face was one of pure concentration as she seemed to be looking for one thing and one thing only. She found what she was looking for with a quick "Aha!"

It was a home pregnancy test. While the world advanced in every form of technology, the technology to detect early pregnancy at home seemed to still remain the same. It was a peculiar thought to Okabe.

"Wait here a second," she got up from her spot and walked into the bathroom.

"Why do you already have one of those on hand?"

Kurisu paused for a second and looked down. It was almost as if she realized something saddening.

"You and I were trying for a baby," she never turned around. "This was going to be our quickest way to detect it if I ever had any symptoms, like the nausea spell you just pointed out. I missed my period last week, so here's to hoping, huh?"

She started walking into the bathroom once more.

It was another memory that Okabe never made. The overwhelming desire to want to father a child never seemed like a possibility to him, but his previous version continued to surprise him. At that point, Okabe knew that the root of Kurisu's sadness came from the fact that he couldn't remember anything; she made that blatantly obvious when she told him in between sobs four nights ago.

His PhoneDroid started buzzing on his nightstand.

Okabe walked over to it. The contact listed on the screen was none other than Daru. He peeked at the time which was listed at the top of the device.

 _"11:10"_

If he did his math correctly, that meant it was midnight in Tokyo at that point. He could only assume that Daru was calling in regards to something that had to do with Valkyrie.

He picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said into it.

"Okarin, I need you to be honest with me," Daru said right off the bat. "Did you ever tell Kuri-tan about what happened with the Professor?"

Okabe's mind raced back to that time when he drugged Leskinen. It was in an effort to stop him from reporting his identity to the Committee. He knew that the Professor was going to stab him in the back if he took his offer, so he had to fight back. Naturally, he knew just how close Leskinen was with Maho and Kurisu, so he didn't want to tell them what he had done since they might not have had as clear a view as he did in regards to needing to keep Leskinen quiet.

He opted to remain silent.

Daru sighed in response. "Okarin, you _have_ to tell her now. You made a mistake in judgement. I understand, it's a perfectly human response to someone that tortured you on another worldline, but you made the wrong move."

"What do you mean, 'mistake in judgement,' and 'wrong move'? Daru didn't you hear what he was saying? He was blackmailing me!"

Okabe made sure to keep his voice down so that Kurisu didn't hear him.

"I perceived it differently than you, Okarin. He was giving both of you a way out, and you took that for granted. Now we're stuck in this situation, and I need you to be calm for it so that you can break the news to Kuri-tan too."

"What?" Okabe was confused.

"I snooped around the Professor's pokecom files by tracing his email address to it. There was a whole ton of correspondence between him and his contact about your identity as the Phoenix, and the Professor kept keeping him at bay by not revealing you. He began studying the New Encephalitis cases as a way to satisfy the Commitee without having to give you up."

Okabe began pacing. He made a mistake? Leskinen was trying to protect him this whole time?

 _But wait,_ he thought. _What I did to him was harmless in the long run. I didn't totally wipe his memory._

"Okarin," Daru pulled Okabe out of his train of thought. "One of our facilities in Hokkaido went offline a couple days ago. When the cameras and electricity came back online, all that was there was blood and dead bodies, and the person housed there is nowhere to be found"

"What?" Okabe got even more confused. "What does that have to do with this?"

Daru wasted no time answering his question. "Because I feel like this incident is directly related to the Professor."

"Wha-?"

 **"Professor Leskinen was found dead last night."**

Okabe froze in place.

"Everything surrounding the circumstances of his death points to one of your former test subjects. Shuichi Wakui."

 _The Professor? Dead?_ Okabe had to sit down on the bed as the news hit him. _Murdered?_

Okabe heard an ecstatic cheer from the bathroom followed by hurried footsteps into the room.

"Okarin! Look!"

In Kurisu's hand was her pregnancy test. On the display, in clear sight, were two parallel lines.

* * *

 **A/N: And there's Chapter 13 in the books. I don't really have much to say in this note as I already got a lot of it out in the flashback that came before this chapter. I bet y'all didn't expect that pregnancy, huh? Chapter 4 planted the seeds, if you could notice, so I thought I'd make those seeds bloom in this chapter, and I feel like it wrapped up nicely. No one's actions are inconsequential. No matter what, there will always be a consequence to a decision you make, and I think you got that feeling here at the end.**

 **Thank you for following this story! As always, I really appreciate the fact that you guys are taking time out of your day to read the stuff I write. Make sure to leave a review to tell me how you think it's going so far! If not, my inbox is always open, and I read every PM you send! Feel free to critique me! I always want to get better. Chapter 14 is in the works and I should be able to release it before my life ramps up and I head off to university. Fingers crossed!**

 **~Quil**


	16. Conception

_**THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY LEMON WARNING. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SEXUAL ACTS, THEN GO AHEAD AND FINISH THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE ALONG WITH THE ONE AT THE END BEFORE CLICKING OFF AS THEY CONTAIN SOME INFORMATION UPDATES. I'LL LEAVE YOU BE WITH THE AUTHOR'S NOTE NOW.**_

 **A/N: So, I'll be lying when I say that I already had this chapter written and was waiting for the right time to release it because I totally didn't and only started writing it after the ending of Chapter 13. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking, "But Quil, something like this is not going to fit the tone that we left off on for Chapter 13!" Well, I guess I agree, but this - I feel - is a nice break in the action from the nonstop serious stuff that we've gotten. I'd like to slow it down a bit just for both you guys and myself to catch our breath.**

 **This is only the second ever lemon I've written and it took a lot of inspiration from the first while also expanding on a couple descriptions. You may feel a little regression in language only because it's _really_ hard for someone like me, a writer who tends to focus on the non-physical aspects of romance, to focus on something that _purely_ sexual. I hope it's to your tastes though.**

 **This is my reward to those of you who are into this kind of stuff and have been waiting for it in a story like this. Of course, if you're not comfortable with anything sexual, then I really recommend that you just skip this chapter entirely as there's honestly no plot points other than the fact that the acts they'll engage in here is the reason why Kurisu has a baby growing inside of her.**

 _ **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED~**_

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Kurisu hurriedly opened the door into the complex she shared with Okabe and walked quickly into their room. She considered herself lucky to be able to not only get out earlier than Okabe, but also convince him that she was going to buy groceries so she couldn't wait for him. She was finally enacting her plan. All day in the lab, she was feeling a stubborn kind of horny and there was no way she was going to put herself in such an erotic position in her own workplace. As a result, she was terribly frustrated from the lack of stimulus to her genitals. All she needed was to get Okabe to go along with relieving her of her special stress at this point because no amount of masturbation was going to relieve her. Being a man, it should have been easy to seduce Okabe into fucking her, but Okabe was no simple man as he needed _some_ form of horniness himself if he ever wanted to address her needs. That was the point of the whole reward system, to give him incentive to _want_ to have sex with her lest he lose his chance. Granted, the system worked more for him than it did for her, so she never really got the chance to initiate. She had to get something more, and she knew exactly what she was going to do in order to get Okabe into bed with her.

Finally having the chance to take it out of the trunk of her car without Okabe seeing her, Kurisu held onto a medium-sized black bag and placed it on the bed in the room. She pulled out the contents and smiled bashfully. It was just a costume with one added component for full immersion, and Kurisu was going to take advantage of it so that she could get that childishly naive man inside of her.

She ventured off into the bathroom where she could look into the mirror as she tried it on. She slipped the necktie off, and began undoing her dress shirt. Underneath was a plain, white bra. It was pretty boring, typical of a bra used for work, so she didn't pay much heed to it. She unhooked it and let if all to the ground, revealing the pert breasts that were housed beneath it. A white line ran across the top of her chest, a scar left behind by that cruel day she experienced all those years ago. She ran her hand across it in absentmindedness as she did whenever she saw it nowadays. She then squeezed her right breast as she rubbed herself through her skirt, trying to get at least a little bit of relief. Of course, going in order, Kurisu took off her skirt, leaving her black panties as the only garment of clothing left on her.

It was moist to the touch, no doubt due to the nonstop feeling of being turned on that she experienced all day. She slid them off with ease and promptly inserted two fingers into herself for "scientific purposes". She pulled her fingers out, examining the substance that soaked them, then stuck them in her mouth, tasting her own juices and relishing in it. She had to do everything in her power to not get herself off right then and there, or else she'd have wasted a good chance to use the thing she was stripping for.

She grabbed the costume and began slipping it on. It was a form-fitting spandex costume that accentuated all of her features, going so far as to show her nipples poking through the fabric. She could feel herself getting more and more turned on as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was one thing to be civil and pure to the people around her that aren't Okabe, but whenever she was either with Okabe or by herself, this was what was going to be present - a dirty 2channeler at heart with a soul full of lust. Of course, as she aged, that kind of personality toned down a bit, but there were always flashes of it like today. She grabbed the accessory and put it in before turning off the light and heading back into the room to sit on the bed in wait.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity for Okabe to get home, keeping herself on edge by either playing with her nipples, or slowly sticking her finger in and out of her entrance. Finally, she heard the door into the complex open and close.

"I'm home!" Okabe called.

She got herself into position on the bed, lying on her back, spreading her legs, and pointing her lower body towards the entrance to the room.

She heard Okabe rustling about around the house. On weekdays, he usually placed his paperwork on the dining room table, finished up chores around the house, ate, then went to work on finishing the paperwork - usually grading homework - before going to bed. Under extreme circumstances, he'd get a call from Daru in regards to Valkyrie, but those moments came few and far between.

"Kurisu?" he called out from outside the room, still getting settled down.

Most of the time, Okabe got home before Kurisu because of how much she had to work in the lab compared to him. However, he probably saw her car in the compound when he came in, so he knew she had to be in the house somewhere. She heard footsteps coming into the room, so all she could do was look at the door in anticipation for her target to come through it. The door slid open, detecting Okabe's presence on the other side.

"You in he-?" Okabe choked on his words as he turned on the light and took in the sight before him.

Kurisu bashfully smiled as Okabe stood there frozen at the door. His tie and collar were undone, and his hair was a mess, making him all the more hotter to her. She wanted Okabe to free her from the agonizing frustration and to stop standing at the door, but she didn't want to force him lest he get scared and turn her down. She felt her breast over the spandex, and looked at him in the most seductive way he could muster.

"Don't you want to tame this cat, Okarin?" she added a purr-like nya to the end of her sentence.

"C-Christina," Okabe panicked and said her nickname. "Why are you dressed like a cat?"

Not good. At this rate, Okabe was going to reject her and leave her to having to pleasure herself to get rid of her frustration.

"To make sure that myaster gets in bed with Christinya," she hated saying that but it was too late to break character at that point.

She flipped over, revealing her backside to Okabe. There, attached to a plug that was inserted inside of her butt, was a cat tail. "This pussy's pussy is waiting, myaster."

 _God, that sounded hot,_ she congratulated herself.

"Eek," Okabe cringed at what she just said. "You really want all out on this one, didn't you, Assistant?"

 _No, you asshole,_ Kurisu got angry. _That's not how you're supposed to respond!_

Kurisu did her best as to not give away her anger and continued on with her act of playfully rolling around the bed like a feline, trying to coax Okabe to get in and help her out with her situation.

Okabe chuckled, then laughed a bit. It was nothing like his fake laugh as Hououin Kyouma, so it was genuine, and this authentic laughter drove a stake right into her heart. He was laughing at her. Not only did she put herself out on a limb to appear as sexy as can be, but her husband started laughing at her for it! It felt like a genuine blow to her self esteem, driving home the fact that maybe she should start acting her age. She knew that if Okabe was younger than 40, he'd already be ontop of her, but here he was standing in the same spot he did a couple minutes prior, not moving in on her like she wanted.

However, before she was about to give up, he spoke up. "You're really horny right now, aren't you my feline Assistant?"

She stopped rolling around and looked at him.

"You know," Okabe said. "While this is a most certainly welcome sight, you could have told me without needing to put on the act for me and I'd have helped you regardless."

 _You mean I bought this thing for nothing?! Here I am going out of my way to try and get you turned on and_ now _you decide to tell me that asking you would have sufficed?! Are you serious?!_

"Well, you nyo," Kurisu kept her reaction in her mind. "I guess Christinya just wants to spice it up, nya."

"Come here," Okabe ordered.

Kurisu complied, rolling out of the bed and walking slowly up to Okabe. She could feel the plug move about inside of her, forcing her to swallow her moans so that she could seem as natural as possible.

"You _do_ remember our goal, right?" he asked her.

Kurisu thought about it and couldn't get any more red than her hair. In the midst of her hopeless horniness, she totally lost sight of the promise she made with Okabe. They were both finally ready for a kid, and he specifically told her that he'd do whatever it takes to ensure that he gets to father a child.

 _All I had to do was ask. I'm so stupid._

"Y-yes," she said. "To be honest, I had it bad today, so I kind of forgot it and now I'm in this stupidly childish cat costume trying to 'come hither' you into bed with me."

Okabe chuckled a bit, grabbed his necktie, put it behind Kurisu's neck and pulled her into a kiss with it. Usually that was the kind of thing that she did, but it was still heat-inducing for Kurisu to have Okabe do such a thing to her. She could feel herself getting wetter by the second; the chance to finally get Okabe in bed with her was upon her, and she'd be able to relieve herself at long last.

Their kiss got deeper and deeper, Okabe's tongue plunged into Kurisu's mouth the instant they connected and now her tongue and his were fighting for dominance. Okabe pushed her back a bit so that they could get to the edge of the bed. Through it all, they were still connected, neither of them giving up on ensuring that their partner knew just who was the more dominant one.

In the midst of the war that was within their mouths, Okabe reached behind Kurisu and pulled her tail out from inside of her. The action itself elicited a moan from Kurisu, forcing her to break from the kiss so that she could get it out. Okabe held it and looked at it for a second before throwing it off to the side and continuing his attack in her mouth.

"W-wait," Kurisu said trying to break away. "What was that for?"

 _That tail was a bitch to put in and you're just going to pull it out like that?_

"It's simple, my precious Assistant," he said, obliging to Kurisu breaking the kiss. "I'm going to be making love to Okabe Kurisu, not Christinya."

It was so suave that, if this were some comedic shoujo anime, her ovaries would have exploded upon hearing such a statement. It was corny, but it worked for her. All she did in response was take off her cat ears and speak one last time to him.

"Then do it, Okarin. Show me the love you have to give."

 _Two can play at that game._

Okabe smiled before they re-engaged in their kissing match. Okabe squatted down, guiding Kurisu's mouth with him, wrapped his arms behind her legs, and lifted her up. Before heading to the university in the morning, Okabe would always spend an hour in the gym. He picked up the habit when he was 28, and he hadn't dropped it since. Now, instead of using that strength to beat people up, he used it to solidify just why he was the best man Kurisu could have dreamed of.

He broke their kiss and let her fall on the bed. Kurisu adjusted herself while Okabe began stripping down to absolute nakedness. First, the shirt came off to show the incredibly toned upper body that he had. Her eyes however, were directed at his stomach, as they always were whenever he was topless. It wasn't the impeccable abdominal muscles he had, it was what remained there despite their formation. A patch of skin that didn't match the color of the rest of his body. It was the proof of his undying love that was apparent for her from as far back as when they first met. It was the spot where her father stabbed him. Any other day, she would have stopped him and stroked that spot as a sort of ritual, but her horniness overtook her as she paid attention to him when he took off his pants.

There, in between his legs, was what Kurisu discovered to be her most favorite part of Okabe's body. Not even the abs he built up could match the authority that a cock like his imposed on a woman like her. And it wasn't just how it looked either, over the years, it seemed like Okabe got infinitely better than the last time they had sex. All she expected was good things to come from him at that point.

Kurisu responded in kind by slipping the straps of her costume off her shoulders, and letting it fall past her breasts, revealing them. Because of how long Kurisu was on edge, her nipples were already hard, but that didn't interest Okabe in the slightest. He slowly lowered himself down on the bed and sat, naked, in front of Kurisu. He raised his hand and placed a finger ontop of her chest where the scar was, and traced its path just like she did moments earlier. His tracing was slow, almost teasing. What followed pushed Kurisu over that edge she placed herself on. He placed his tongue on one end of the scar and traced its path like that, forcing Kurisu's senses into overdrive just from how good it felt to have his tongue in such a tender area.

She let a moan escape her mouth while Okabe went to work on her chest. At the same time, she pushed the fabric covering her entrance to the side and started rubbing herself directly.

However, before she could make any progress in getting herself off, Okabe caught her hand.

"Just ask and you shall receive, Assistant," he surfaced from his trek on her chest and whispered in her ear.

"Who's the assistant here, Okarin?" she asked in reply. "Are you catering to my every need, now?"

Without so much as saying a word or move his head, Okabe's hand replaced Kurisu's hand and he started rubbing her clitoris. Of course, coming from her husband, the whole thing felt so much better to her. She moaned in surprise and pleasure at Okabe's sudden movement and started grinding her hips ontop of his hand.

"You really _are_ wet down there, Assistant," Okabe continued whispering into her ear. "Just imagine having my dick in there and showing you just why you belong to me."

Kurisu's brain melted into her cranium. No rational thought remained when Okabe uttered those words to her. She was getting pleased everywhere. He was groping her breasts with one hand, playing with her clitoris in another, and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. It was everything she could have wished for and more than she even expected out of Okabe.

She grabbed his head and smashed her lips into his. She was even more ravenous this time around than when they first started. Her actions caught Okabe by surprise, practically forcing him to stop in order to not fall backwards.

 _You're not stopping._

She moved her hands from behind his head, and clasped his hands, guiding them back to their original positions. Through it all, their tongues resumed twirling about, trying to assume dominance over the other. Okabe began playing with her the same way as before, but became more commanding with it, causing her to moan in his mouth. He stuck two fingers inside of her while keeping his thumb loose to keep playing with her clitoris, making her bounce up and down as if she were riding him. She couldn't concentrate on the kissing match anymore because of how much he was making her moan, so she chose to sit back instead.

She never got to actually fulfill her choice as Okabe used his boob-grabbing hand to catch her behind her back. He stopped everything. Kurisu feeling incomplete, could only pout at him.

"Take off the spandex," he ordered again. "We're going into your second favorite position."

Kurisu could barely hold in her glee. She fell back, allowing Okabe to let go of her so that she could slide it off from her body. After a little bit of struggling where Okabe just watched with apparent hunger, she finally got the spandex off. Both of them switched spots, Okabe going to the side of the bed closest to the headboard, and then laid down with his head facing away from it. Kurisu climbed ontop of him, her crotch hovering over his mouth, and his dick in her face - Sixty-nine.

She had an affinity for blowing Okabe, and she wanted to feel pleasure at the same time, so this position was always a go-to, but it never beat her first favorite which - at the way Okabe was accomodating her - would probably come later on in the session. She lowered her crotch down to Okabe's face as she lowered her own face to his dick and she began.

Her lips wrapped around the tip of his dick, enveloping it, before she pushed further. Her record deepthroat reached the base of his cock - 18 centimeters of Okabe fit in her mouth and tickled the back of her throat; she got so good at it that she was able to overcome her gag reflex too. However, since she was barely starting, she stayed comfortable by only going halfway down then coming back up. She also worked her hand in, stroking him each time she went up or down.

Underneath her, Okabe went to work and started playfully licking around the nub that was her clitoris. Ever since figuring out its existence and how important it was when she pointed it out to him their first time, he always made a target out of it and waves of pleasure continously crashed down onto Kurisu, building that ever-present warm feeling in her core to something unstoppably hot. He was skilled with his tongue, be it speaking, or literally using it on her, and she tried her best to not get distracted from blowing him. Of course, she couldn't help moaning into his dick, when he started.

His tongue pierced her entrance, flitting in and out rapidly. _Now you've gone and done it_.

She started ramping up what she was doing in response. She got deeper and deeper each time she went down on him. Once her mouth had fully engulfed Okabe's dick, she rolled her tongue around it as best she could. Finally, after seeming coolness throughout their entire session, Okabe let out what was a mixture of a grunt and a moan. She smiled internally at herself. It was always her goal to make a sound out of Okabe outside of when he usually does when he came, and that sound was not the sound of a man who was about to cum. She surfaced briefly, taking his entire dick out of her mouth before going down again, engulfing it once more and staying there for a bit. She built a steady pace as Okabe continued on his quest to pleasure her womanhood.

"Assistant," Okabe called from under her, his breath tickling her. "Unless you want this to not end with me cumming in your mouth, I suggest we move on to your favorite position."

"Already reaching your limit there, Okarin?" she said, removing his dick from her mouth.

As soon as she disconnected, he flipped her off of him. She yelped in surprise from the sudden movement that somehow still kept her on her knees. However, Okabe was nowhere under her, instead, he was behind her. She still felt his weight on the bed because he didn't stand up. When she looked behind her, she was surprised by Okabe's sudden penetration of her with his dick. It wasn't a slow entry - he practically forced himself in without so much as a tender moment or anything.

She squealed in surprise as Okabe ravaged her from behind. This was the most erotic position for her and it got her off the best. To be dominated by behind by her husband. She wasn't some masochist, doggy style was her favorite of all the positions she tried because it included the least amount of work in exchange for Okabe being able to pierce deeper inside of her. Okabe's pace was slow, but brutal, smashing into her with all his might to get as deep as he could into her.

Kurisu's moans of pleasure filled the room, while Okabe grunted in silence as he did his work. His hands were clasped onto her buttocks, groping them as he thrust inside of her.

He leaned in next to her ear and whispered once more. "Are you ready to experience bliss?"

"Wha-"

Kurisu was sharply cut off by Okabe's increased speed. What was once slow and powerful became fast and even more intense than before. Okabe thrust in and out of her faster than she could let out a single moan. Each time he thrust, he hit her G-Spot, sending more and more waves of pleasure into Kurisu's core. Her eyes rolled back into her head as Okabe ravaged her from behind, not holding back an ounce of power when it came to dominating her.

 _H-holy,_ it was so powerful she could barely keep her thoughts together.

"Okarin!"

She called out his name as pleasure spread throughout her entire body. Her core exploded, releasing all that pent up energy into an orgasm - an orgasm that she had been waiting for for the entire day. She couldn't hold back screaming as her body was flooded with more stimulus than it could handle, but Okabe wasn't letting up. He kept pounding away at a quicker pace. If he kept going at that pace and at that force, Kurisu would orgasm again, and she loved it. This feeling flooding through her was the reason why she enjoyed doggy style the way she did.

She aided him in getting her off by playing with her breasts. She rolled them about, and pinched her nipples to try and match what Okabe was doing to her in terms of levels of pleasure, but she just couldn't. He kept hitting her G-Spot whenever he smashed into her at an almost methodical level despite the speed at which he was thrusting into her. In short time, Kurisu felt another core-shattering orgasm getting ready to rock her body. Her moans increased in volume until it happened again.

"Kurisu!"

Okabe called out her name and started grunting. This meant that he was about to cum too - in the middle of her orgasm too. Then, moments later, she could feel Okabe's seed be released deep inside her. It felt warm, and it was the best way to cap off what was probably her favorite sex session she'd had with Okabe in a long while. They always tried new positions, but trying her top two was a rarity - a rarity that he granted her today.

Okabe's dick came out with a pop, letting loose the excess cum that she just couldn't hold in. As always, Okabe used his finger to wipe up whatever spilled out, and presented it to Kurisu for her to lick off. Part of it was because it was cheap and made it easier for them to clean the bed, another was because she actually liked the taste of his cum - it was something she couldn't live without at that point. Okabe got off the bed, allowing Kurisu to recover on her own. Of course, more was going to be pouring out of her if she stayed in that spot, so she got off the bed as well and started walking shakily into the bathroom, holding her hand to her entrance to catch anything that might fall out.

She stopped and turned around at the man who found a seat on the bed once more. He was panting, at a loss of breath because of what he had done. While doggy-style was certainly an easy position for her to get off to, it took an insurmountable amount of endurance for any man to do what Okabe had done to her.

"Would you like to join me in the shower, Okarin?"

It was the only way she could reward him for the pleasure he brought her. He gave her what she wanted and even more, and she loved him all the more for it. Of course, she didn't love him just for the amazing sex, but it was a very nice quality for him to have.

He looked up at her, exiting his train of thought and smiled. "Of course."

He was about to stand up, but she stopped him with a glare. "Call me Assistant during sex again, and you'll live to regret it."

He looked at her and smiled. "No promises...Assistant."

He got up and shot into the bathroom past her.

"Hey! I'm supposed to be getting in first! Damn it, Okarin!"

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I just did that. I'm not used to writing this kind of stuff so I'm not sure how to feel about it. I could write an essay explaining why Kurisu's horniness was not out of character, but I'll leave it at 3 words. She's a 2channeler (I can't say the in-universe name because FF doesn't like the at symbol). Partial point incoming: throughout the original VN, Okabe teased Kurisu for being into all this naughty stuff, and Kurisu didn't confirm nor deny whether she actually _was_ into this kind of stuff, so I took that hesitance and made it a reality.**

 **Anyway, there's my justification for something that's purely fanservice (the working title for this chapter was "Overwritten Fanservice") anyway. I know it's probably the quickest I've ever released a chapter after the last one, but that's only because of how little it affected the plot aside from it being the sex that concieved the Okabes' baby. These kinds of chapters, while giving me a hard time with language, are the best ones to write if I want to release something quickly.**

 **But yeah, Chapter 14 is still being worked on. Don't expect it to be done as quickly as this chapter was in relation to Chapter 13 though. I took this time writing the lemon to rest my brain a bit from thinking about writing the plot I had going forward just so I could focus on the fluffy stuff. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review or PM me what you think about the story so far! I'm always interested in hearing what you guys have to think about this stuff.**

 **Also! I have a Twitter now: QuilSays, so feel free to follow that too! It's mostly me being a weeb and such so if that stuff interests you, then it's out there now.**

 **~Quil**


	17. Chapter 14

**A/N: Whew, I was able to get this one out pretty quick, right? Now that we got that distraction of a lemon out of the way, let's continue with the story.**

 **Also, as done before in Chapter 13, this chapter does include HUGE spoilers in regards to one of the characters to Chaos;Child. Read at your own risk.**

* * *

 ** _Date: March 16, 2023_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)_**

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the exact same worldline as it was before the shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite: 13 years, 7 months, 28 days.**_

Kurisu sat with Okabe on the stage that was provided for them. They had finally exchanged their vows and were husband and wife, and now they had to listen to their loved ones give speeches about them from the tables below. Of course, the parents weren't a part of the speech process as it was the job of the wedded couple to deliver speeches about how grateful they were to those that raised them. It was standard procedure, but all Kurisu really wanted was to spend that time with Okabe and she was happy she got such an opportunity.

"Once again, congratulations you two," Maho wrapped up her speech. "May we continue with a long life of friendship and discovery."

Maho winked at the two who smiled at what she said. She took a seat and took a deep breath, finally being done. Maho wasn't all that into public speaking, and only did translation work because it was easy to put someone else's ideas into another language. However, coming up with what to say seemed like it exhausted her, but her speech was very loving regardless.

The host took the microphone from her and asked if anyone else had a speech prepared. The entire Future Gadget Lab had already given their speeches which got both Kurisu and Okabe teary-eyed, but they were able to stay strong. Neither of them expected any more speeches and were ready to deliver their own to their parents, but one man raised his hand to call the host over. The man in question was Alexis Leskinen.

"Thank you," he could be heard saying as the microphone was handed to him.

Kurisu got slightly red. She had completely forgotten to tell the Professor not to give a speech. She wanted to tell Leskinen to stop before he started, but he began speaking before she could get a word off.

"Kurisu, Rintaro," Leskinen looked at the both of them with a sincere smile on his face. "Congratulations on the wedding."

Naturally, the room filled with sparse applause at what he said, but he was unfazed.

"It feels like you two joined up at Victor Chondria just yesterday. If anyone were to tell me that we'd be here 6 years after Rintaro moved to America, I'd have called them crazy and said it'd have been sooner. Regardless, I'm glad you two found each other to be fitting of the title of 'spouse'."

A couple people laughed at the Professor's statement.

"Rintaro," Leskinen addressed Okabe first. "Your contributions to our lab are nothing to be scoffed at. Words can't express the gratitude I feel toward you for helping us figure out the solution to the toughest problems we faced for years on end. It's thanks to you that we're able to move on with Amadeus and perfect the A.I. Without you, I don't know where the Neuroscience Institute would be. So, thank you."

Leskinen turned his attention to Kurisu. "Kurisu, my little Einstein."

He smiled as Kurisu blushed brightly. She _really_ wanted him to stop, but nothing she would say could possibly stop the Professor.

"Before Rintaro, I never thought I'd see the day you'd marry a man you were satisfied with. Your expectations for yourself and those around you are naturally high and it's a shining trait of your self-worth. You're the reason why I work so hard each and every day I come in to work. Sure, some of it might be because you scare me when you're angry with me, but I promise that most of it is because your belief in me spurs me on."

The room was filled with more laughs.

"I'm so glad that I've gotten the opporunity to have you under my wing all these years. I hope I was able to teach you how to be a scientist anywhere near as much as you taught me to be a hardworking person. I love you with all my heart, and I wish for nothing but happiness for the both of you. Congratulations."

The room filled with applause like it did with every other speech that came before. The host took the microphone out of the Professor's hands and asked if anyone else had anything to share.

Naturally, no one else did so the host passed off the microphone to the couple who had their speeches prepared for their parents. Okabe went first as it was _his_ family that Kurisu was being married into. She sat back and listened as he thanked his parents for raising him to be the kind of person that he grew up to be. He made a couple jokes about his open dislike for eggplants despite his parents owning a vegetable grocer which got laughs out of the audience. All in all, it was a natural speech given by one of the most charismatic men Kurisu came to know. It felt hard to top, but of course she wasn't aiming to top him. All she wanted was to express her thanks to her parents and nothing more.

Okabe passed off the mic to her once he finished. She passed a sneaking glance over to Okabe's parents who were in tears from what he had said. She could only hope that her speech had anywhere near the same effect as his.

She started.

"Hi everyone, thank you for the well-wishes. I'm sure to cherish this day forever just for this moment alone, and I can't exactly formulate a good sentence that could express the love I feel for each and every one of you. Of course, this could only really be possible because of two people."

She found her mother who was seated alone among Kurisu's coworkers.

"Mom, you've watched over me from the very day I came into this world kicking and screaming. You enabled me to be the best I can be and think for myself despite being a little girl. You instilled me with values that are still stubbornly evident in me to this day, but I can't help thanking you for it. Despite the horrors that dad put us through, I can't help feeling like your love and your support was the reason why I was able to run into Rintaro on that day. You've been nothing but the best and I can't help expressing my thanks over and over again to you because of how much you sacrificed to make sure I was taken care of. And now, here I am, growing up just like you wanted, Mom. I love you, thank you for everything."

She turned her attention to another side of the room. She had already seen this side once before because of a certain man, but now it was her turn.

"Professor Leskinen," she called him out. "I was going to tell you to not give a speech only because this day is about you as much as it is about me."

Leskinen was surprised at the sudden turn of events.

"Here we are, Professor," Kurisu continued. "We've made it to this point. I'm the happiest girl on the planet, and you helped make this dream come true for me. You brought Rintaro into Victor Chondria at my behest despite not knowing anything about him. Your unparalleled trust in me not disappointing you may be a burden at times, but it's the best compliment you could ever give. You made the lab as welcoming as possible for an outsider like me and I can't thank you enough for that."

She could begin to feel tears well into her eyes.

"After my father did what he did, you stepped up and took me under your wing. You helped alleviate the pain that my mother and I were feeling by providing for me in every way you could. You're wrong to think that you only taught me to be a better scientist - you taught me to be the best person I could be. Your compassion, sincerity, humor, and love have gone a long ways to make up the woman you see before you today. You've earned the right to be called my parent after everything you've done for me and I wouldn't have it any other way. You're the best Papa I could ever wish for. Thank you for everything."

She felt tears wet her cheeks as she finished her speech. Leskinen's look of surprise turned to one of compassion. He clapped along with the rest of the audience and she could see tears welling in the impenetrable Professor's eyes. She was glad to have gotten such a reaction out of him because it meant that he felt the same for her. He nodded toward her and she blew a kiss to him in response.

The host took the microphone from her hand. "Alright then, let's have a toast and eat, shall we?"

The room cheered at the proposition as hunger was felt by everyone.

Everyone raised their filled glasses of sake. "Kanpai!"

* * *

"W-what?"

Kurisu's arms dropped to her side. Her face lost the joy and life that was present when she found out that she was pregnant upon hearing the news of Leskinen's death. All Okabe could do was sit at the bed and look at her as he said it. He wasn't capable of comforting her and telling her it would be okay because the reason Leskinen was dead was because of him. Daru told him that Leskinen received a threatening email from his contact when no updates were given regarding the situation with the patients, and what practically solidified his death was that Leskinen sent an email in return, basically inquiring just who was contacting him.

Daru remained on the call to ensure that Okabe came clean about everything. Even though he already planned on coming clean to Kurisu once he processed the news, he could only guess that Daru didn't have faith in him completing a simple task. Being the witness to the event that caused his death was probably the reason why he stayed on call, and Okabe didn't have any intention on hanging up on him.

Okabe erased Leskinen's memories. He not only erased his identity as the Phoenix, but he erased Leskinen's backup plan. Had he thought it through, he could have just forged false results and sent it to Leskinen to give to the Committee. He probably didn't even care about the root cause of New Encephalitis, he probably just wanted to hand something to the Committee so that he could keep them off Okabe's scent for as long as possible. Leskinen wasn't interested in time travel because the theory was burned all those years ago; Okabe knew that, yet his pre-conceived notion that Leskinen was as morally corrupt as he was in the Beta Attractor Field took root and basically allowed the murder to take place.

"Y-you're lying," Kurisu was shaking. "This is a joke, right?"

All Okabe could do was grimly shake his head, the PhoneDroid still in his ear. Hearing Kurisu the way she was meant that there was no way he'd be able to keep Daru on the line.

"I'll call you back, Daru," he said. "I'll do as you ask, please trust me."

"Okay, Okarin," Daru said. "I'm sorry to leave this news on your plate when you're supposed to be taking a break."

"It's okay," he responded. "Thank you for telling me."

Daru ended the call with a "mhmm", leaving Okabe alone with Kurisu.

Kurisu's eyes wandered about aimlessly, unable to focus on anything. She couldn't decide whether to keep her mouth closed or have it open. She was thinking, and she left Okabe out of the thinking process. He only hoped he could understand what was going through her mind at that moment, but he let her try to deliberate it on her own while he tried to think of a way to tell her that he was responsible.

"I-I don't feel so..." Kurisu's words trailed off before her legs buckled from beneath her.

"Kurisu!"

Okabe got up and caught her before her body hit the floor. All the stress finally caught up to her, draining her of all the energy she previously had. Her eyes were wet with tears that hadn't fallen yet, and they were staring off into the nothingness just past him. He held her in place as she clutched his back as tightly as she seemingly could, her chin resting on his shoulder. Her breath was shaky, almost to the point that she was hyperventilating.

"Please," she sobbed into his shoulder. "Tell me it's not true."

He rubbed her back silently as she slowly broke down into more and more sobs. "Okarin, please, say something."

"I'm sorry," was all he could manage.

"Why," she dug her face into him. "Why did we have to find out like this! Why did he have to die!"

She cried loudly into his shoulders, trying to look to him for a comfort that he was incapable of giving. He might as well have been the murderer himself. Heavy guilt racked Okabe's soul; he brought Kurisu's world crashing down on her with the use of that pill. Just from the way Leskinen spoke about her when they met in the hospital showed just how much she meant to him - he could only imagine just how much Leskinen meant to her. It wasn't a mere relationship through work, this kind of grief could only be felt by someone who had lost the equivalent of a family member. He took that away from her because of his selfish desire to make Leskinen pay for what he did in a totally separate reality.

He had to come clean, but how? Kurisu was in the most emotionally vulnerable position she could ever be in, yet he absolutely knew that she had to know that Leskinen died as a result of Okabe's hubris. All he did was rub her back and let her cry. He was at a loss for what to say, and he felt that he'd make her feel even worse if he _did_ say anything.

 _It's now or never_ , he tried reasoning with himself. _Kurisu has to know now while she's in pain so that she's not blindsided when she feels better._

He waited a bit as she held on to him as tight as she had been the entire time. The sobbing slowed down and she regained a little bit of composure, but she was still a wreck.

"It's my fault," he said waiting for her to respond.

"W-what?" she sniffled.

"He's dead because of my actions," he looked straight ahead, dropping his arms.

"No," it sounded like Kurisu was about to cry again. "Okarin don't blame yourself for some-"

"Kurisu," he cut her off. "I erased his memories when I ran into him at the hospital. He knew about my identity as The Phoenix and I panicked, so I drugged him with a Reading Steiner pill. He forgot the mission that the Committee had him doing, so they killed him."

Once he started he couldn't stop. He felt his eyes begin to water. Never in his time in World War III had he ever thought to take the life of an innocent person. Not only did he assist in taking the life of an innocent man, but that man was the most important person to Kurisu aside from himself.

"It's my fault" he repeated, his voice barely cracking. "I'm the reason why he's dead. Had I thought things through differently, he'd still be alive."

The guilt was too much to bear for Okabe, but he tried not to let it get to him. He never wanted Leskinen to die, but the universe had other plans. There was no time travel to reset his mistake, no D-Mail, no PhoneWave; he was going to have to live with this and try to find a way to move on. Even though he ran the risk of Kurisu hating him, he had to remain strong for her.

Kurisu let go of him and backed away from him. She pulled herself back, a face of shock being all that he could read. All she could do was look at him as she crawled away from him.

"Y-you used one of your pills on him?" she was incredulous. "You used something that was supposed to make you feel better as a weapon against Pa...?"

Papa. Kurisu was about to call Leskinen Papa. She couldn't finish what she was saying as a new onslaught of tears broke free, showering her cheeks. She covered her mouth, but Okabe could hear muffled sobs escaping her lips.

Okabe got hit with memories of Leskinen - memories he never made. One moment he was at the Neuroscience Institute, bantering with him at Kurisu's expense, and the next he was watching as Leskinen cried tears of joy for Kurisu when she gave him the acknowledgement he deserved as a father. The memories didn't stop coming, as if his own mind was telling him just what kind of man Okabe took away from the world.

"He only tested it once on a Committee member to see what it did," Kurisu's voice brought him back into reality momentarily. "He promised me he was never going to do it again."

He. The Rintaro Okabe that came before.

"He warned you!" she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "He warned you not to use it on anyone else, but you...!"

She broke down once more, unable to keep attacking him with words that he definitely deserved. He'd been recovering memories here and there about the Steins Gate World Line, but these recent ones that assaulted him were unforgiving. Leskinen was there in almost every facet of their life, being as supportive as he could be. He accomodated the both of them to the best of his ability and went out of his way to make their lives easier before he disappeared. Okabe internally snapped, it was begining to become too much.

 _I know,_ he thought in regards to the memories that were flooding in. _I know how important he was to you, I understand. Please, I don't need any more of this._

He was pleading with his own brain to quit showing him what he considered the most haunting imagery he had ever seen. It was as if his past self was punishing him for his actions because his past self knew that Kurisu wouldn't be able to put into words just how much Leskinen meant to her. The laughs they shared together, the tears of joy, the comforting smile after a failed experiment. It was as if his past self considered the Professor as a really close family member.

 _You messed up_ , it was as if a voice spoke to him within his head. _You must see just what he did with us. Only then can you properly understand the weight of your actions and move from there._

 _What?_

Kurisu had placed her head on the floor, trying to find some sort of balance. She wasn't talking to him, yet he heard a voice that wasn't his in his head. A product of his madness, perhaps?

 _Am I the product of your madness or the manifestation of your guilt?_ the voice asked. _Both make sense, but I'd care to consider which you think I_ actually _am_ _because such an assumption will define you._

 _So, what are you?_ he held a dialogue with the voice in his head.

 _Not what, but who,_ the voice responded. _Well, I guess you're correct on the "what" thing, but you should know that I am just a voice in your head. The thing for you to decide is why I'm here now._

 _You're a product of my madness,_ Okabe answered quickly. _It's a given considering the stress I've been put through. It's a wonder you didn't come sooner._

 _ **Then you don't understand.**_

As soon as the voice spoke, more memories of Okabe hanging around Leskinen surfaced. Memories of each other going out drinking after a successful ATF, he remembered when Leskinen had opened up at Victor Chondria University - Neurophysics 101 - a course that Okabe took for the hell of it. Okabe was being overwhelmed with scene-after-scene of what Leskinen had done for the couple. Okabe wanted to cover his eyes, but he knew it'd prove ineffective when everything was going on in his head.

" _Rintaro?_ " Okabe was pulled into a vision.

He was at the Neuroscience Institute. The room was devoid of researchers, the only proof of their existence being the stacks of paper piled upon each desk. He saw a younger Leskinen who seemed to have a stern look on his face. His legs were crossed over each other as he leaned on the table.

"Yes?" Okabe asked instinctively.

"Take care of her, okay?" Leskinen's voice was soft, but he could sense a sort of command from his tone. "You are probably the best man I could have envisioned to marry her."

Leskinen got up and walked over to him to place his hands on Okabe's shoulders.

"Words can't express how proud I am of the both of you and Maho," Leskinen's commanding tone went away. "I'm so proud of what the three of you have done and will do in the future together."

"Thank you, Professor," it was as if Okabe had no control over thinking about what to say. "I promise not to let you down."

Leskinen smiled, and as he did, the scenery around Okabe began melding together into one gray blob before ramming into him at full force, bringing him back to his room in the present.

A sweat broke out on his forehead as the visions continued assaulting him. He started rummaging through his pockets, trying to find the Reading Steiner pills to be able to quell them.

 _If you take those pills, then you will continue being the monster from World War III with no hope of adapting to this reality. These memories are for_ your _sake._

His hand froze in his pocket. The pills were in his grasp, but he hesitated on pulling them out because of what the voice in his head told him. It was as if this voice was his past self, lecturing him on how to live in this world. Before he could think further, Okabe was launched back into the same scene with Leskinen in front of him with the Professor's hands on his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you three so suddenly like this," he said, taking his hands off of Okabe's shoulders.

"Don't you want to at least tell them goodbye too?" Okabe was a passenger in his own body.

"Lord knows if I try, they'll threaten me to stay," Leskinen laughed a sad laugh. "This is for the better. As much as I want to stay, I can't find it in myself to tell them how much more this matters to me than staying here."

Okabe could tell Leskinen was lying, but it wasn't an insidious lie. It was as if his true goal was in relation to protecting them rather than just leaving them. As if his departure was because of how much more he cared about them than anything else.

"Anyway," Leskinen tried brightening up the mood. "I hope your English has gotten good enough to be able to teach that course! You're the most charismatic man I've met - aside from me of course - but I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds by handing it off to you."

"Oh no, of course not," Okabe laughed. "I think I can handle myself pretty well thanks to you, Professor."

Leskinen laughed along with Okabe. "That's the spirit!"

Leskinen sighed before walking back to his desk area and cleaning up whatever was left of his research. He dumped it all in the box that he had found outside, almost as if he had a plan to continue once he left. It was all so unceremonious. A scientist of his caliber should have certainly gotten a send-off, but here he was, packing his things with only Okabe present to see it.

"Why did you want me to see you off, anyway?" Okabe asked.

"Well, I need someone to be able to give a reason for why I'm leaving," Leskinen replied. "If I were to just disappear, Kurisu would think that it's her fault for my departure because of how much of a worrywart she is."

Leskinen picked up the box and placed it under his arm. "Tell her it's not her fault. I know we got into a nasty argument the last time we spoke, but she should never blame herself. The timing of these unforseen events are cruel at times, don't you think? Tell the both of them that I'm retiring to live a life in the countryside like I've always wanted."

Okabe watched as Leskinen walked past him. "You're saying that like you're leaving our lives for good."

Leskinen stopped just before the door.

"Goodbye, Rintaro," he never answered Okabe's question and never turned to face him. "I know you guys will be able to make do without me."

Okabe was slammed back into reality once Leskinen uttered his last words to him. It was almost as if that was the Professor's way of saying goodbye to him even though he had already passed on. A kind soul, who only cared for what was best of those around him. That's the kind of man that Alexis Leskinen was to the Rintaro Okabe of this worldline. Sure, he wasn't purely innocent because he still worked for the shady organization that was Stratfor, but he always ensured that his work never affected the lives of his loved ones.

 _These were the moments I never told her about,_ the voice said. _I could only tell her that he retired and nothing more because I never got the chance. You have that chance now._

 _I understand,_ Okabe spoke to the voice in his head, his eyes brimming with tears. _I understand. I know what I've done, and now I must find a way to help Kurisu get past this. These memories aren't for my sake - they're for her. That's what you'd have wanted me to think, right, Okabe Rintaro?_

He never got a response. The only thing he heard was Kurisu's sobbing into the floor of their room. It seemed like the manifestation of the Okabe he replaced seemed satisfied with his realization and let him be. Okabe was now free of visions and could finally focus on taking care of Kurisu like he should have been from the start. He shouldn't have been focused on how he didn't deserve to console Kurisu, she needed it more than anything and he was busy thinking for himself.

"This is all my fault," Kurisu said. "I should have talked to him. I should have walked in. I should have seen him one last time."

He reached his hand to her and stroked her hair as she cried into the floor. However, as soon as his hand landed on her head, she recoiled and looked at him in something close to disgust.

"Y-you're not my husband," she said between sobs. "I-I thought I knew you, but I was wrong. I don't know who you are. You're not him."

She cast daggers on him with her gaze, but he was ready to receive it. In fact, he was ready to throw those daggers back at her and lay down the gauntlet once more to prove himself.

"Kurisu," he started softly. "I know I'm not _him_ , but I am Okabe Rintaro. I'm a man who's lived more lifetimes than he can count; a scientist and a 'terrorist' from World War III. I am the man who sat in the time machine for 11 years, nearly driving myself to insanity just to ensure that one of the people most precious to me got to see our worldline shift to one of peace. I survived. I survived past my expiration date because of my will to live to see you once more. More importantly, I survived to tell you that this wasn't your fault. Leskinen - your Papa - never wanted to see you like this; he never wanted to see you blaming yourself for something you had no control over."

The tears that brimmed in his eyes finally fell as he recalled the visions he had been granted by his past self.

"Kurisu, I didn't want you in that hospital because I didn't want you to risk your safety. If Leskinen were to do what I did, he'd have done the same thing and probably kept Maho out of it too. He wanted to protect you just as much as I do, and I realize that now."

Kurisu was confused.

"I remember. I remember when we'd go out for drinks after ATF. I remember when he said his final goodbye. I remember everything there is about the man who was Alexis Leskinen, and I'm going to use those memories of him to push forward."

He grit his teeth. "I know that my actions were inhumane. No amount of pleading for forgiveness can atone for what I had done. But I also know that Leskinen never wanted you to feel guilty. He never retired because of your fight with him; he retired because the Committee left him no other choice. He told me to take care of you, and I'll do just that."

Kurisu's eyes were wide in surprise. "H-how do you remember? I-isn't Reading Steiner a complete overwrite?"

"Not always," he said with the same softness, happy that Kurisu acknowledged him in another way that wasn't anger. "There's moments that I can recall on other worldlines, and one of those moments were Leskinen's words of goodbye to me before he left. Kurisu, he had faith in us to reach beyond what we could possibly hope for. I promised him we would."

Okabe looked down, feeling his tears dry up. "I'm going to find his killer and avenge him. It's the least I can do."

He never thought he'd say those words in regards to someone like Leskinen, but they rang true to him. The Leskinen of this worldline was not the same man as the one that put Okabe through hell in Beta.

"I can't..." Kurisu tried saying before looking at the floor once more.

It was a surprise that she was able to get words out, but it was also frustrating because she could never quite finish her sentences. Okabe got closer to her, and she didn't scoot away. He then placed his hand atop hers to comfort it and let her know that he was there.

"Okarin," she sobbed. "I can't lose you too."

The faith he hoped she'd have in him to do what he promised was nowhere to be found. It almost felt like a grave insult considering Okabe had survived much worse than a murderer.

"You told me what Wakui was like," she said. "You made me design that helmet to make sure he wasn't as dangerous. If he was able to get out of Hokkaido, then there's no way the helmet survived."

The statement itself confused Okabe. He didn't know just what kind of person Wakui was, but if he was dangerous enough to make Kurisu fashion something _just_ for him meant that he was not someone who could be taken down quite as easily as he'd have hoped. Of course, Kurisu was well-versed in just what Wakui was because of her closeness to him, so he was her only source of information.

Okabe squeezed her hand. "Kurisu, what is Wakui like?"

The name itself seemed familiar to Okabe, but he was never able to place his finger on just who it was. He just needed her help; she could hate him all she wanted, but all he needed was to know just who Wakui was.

Kurisu looked up at him. Her eyes caught on something just behind them and they widened in response. The only thing she could let out was a gasp before falling back and crawling away from him. Okabe looked behind himself, trying to see what Kurisu saw.

At the door was a man who could be no older than 50. His glasses amplified the murderous glint in his eye which complimented his wicked smile. His hair was a disheveled mess, but it seemed purposefully done so. Okabe got up in between the man and Kurisu.

"You lock me up for twenty years and forget what I'm like?" the voice was so nonchalant that it chilled Okabe. "That's hurtful, Okabe-kun."

The man stepped into the room.

"If you don't mind me, Miss, I'm going to take your husband with me to talk for a bit."

Kurisu tried pushing past Okabe, but Okabe put his arm up to block her. "I won't let you!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," the man flashed his teeth once more before blowing something out of his palm.

In the next moment, Okabe couldn't hear anything - not even his own screaming from the pain of seemingly losing his eardrums. He looked at Kurisu who had fallen and curled up, screaming as well. He looked at the man who afflicted them with the pain. He was right above Okabe and enjoyed every second of what he was putting the pair through.

He stomped on Okabe continously until Okabe lost consciousness. He couldn't hear what was happening, but it was as if his nerves were set on fire. He welcomed the cold embrace of unconsciousness with welcome arms just so that he could escape the crippling pain he felt.

He could only worry for Kurisu, but it was too late to do anything.

Before long, Okabe slipped into the darkness that waited for him.

* * *

 **A/N: To be honest, I wasn't exactly a big fan of writing this chapter. There's something about it to me that just feels slightly off, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Anyway, what'd _you_ think? I'm seemingly blind to my own writing because I love what some of you point out in your analyses of the chapters as they come out. Seeing your feedback encourages me more than anything and it's that feedback that gets me writing as quickly as I do because I want to be able to entertain you all.**

 **Thank you for supporting this as long as you have!**

 **Anyway, I'm headed off to university next month so my mind is gonna be focused on that instead of writing this. Once I get settled in, I'll begin working on Chapter 15. Sorry for making you all wait as my original goal was to get 14 and 15 out of the way, but more and more stuff is piling up that I can't ignore. I promise I won't forget this!**

 **If you're going to Anime Expo, I'll be there! Feel free to shoot me a message if you ever want to talk or anything because I'll mostly be wandering around different groups.**

 **That's all from me. I'll hopefully see you guys sometime in the next two months when I'm all settled in. I appreciate whatever feedback you give me, even if it's just commenting on the story!**

 **Quil~**


	18. Operation Hidden Hand

Operation Hidden Hand is underway!

If you are at all interested in Science Adventure, then it's in your best interest to get this petition signed so that we may be able to experience Chaos;Head NoAH and Robotics;Notes here in the West! It would be a dream come true of mine if these games come to the West and they'd definitely provide excellent context to be able to understand this story that I'm writing. If you have friends who are interested in Visual Novels, share this petition with them as well!

In the meantime, I'm cleaning up a wholesome one-shot that I wrote quite a while ago just to help ease the wait between Chapters 14 and 15. However, this part, while taking place in the Overwritten timeline, will be its own story, so follow me as an author if you want to be notified when that's released.

Thank you for your support!

Quil~

Petition can be found here (given the nature of FF, I can't exactly post clickable links so you gotta type in the address yourself): www change org/p/spike-chunsoft-please-localize-robotics-notes-elite-for-english-audiences


	19. Chapter 15

**A/N: I lied. There was no wholesome OkaKuri fic. Instead you get one final chapter to _Overwritten_ before I go on a little bit of a hiatus in order to get acquainted with college. Also, I hope you guys enjoy some of the aesthetic changes I've made to the beginning of each chapter. **

_**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS TO CHAOS;CHILD. IF YOU INTEND ON READING THE VISUAL NOVEL AT ALL, THEN I SUGGEST HOLDING OFF ON THIS STORY UNTIL YOU DO SO. FROM HERE ON OUT, SCIADV WILL BE MORE INTERCONNECTED WITH THE STORY.**_

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Date: ?**_

 _ **Divergence: 1.048596* (Steins Gate)**_

 _ ***Worldline shift in 2020 - Not the same exact worldline prior to shift.**_

 _ **Time until Overwrite:**_ _ **ERROR - NEGATIVE VALUE - CANNOT COMPUTE.**_

Okabe awoke with a groan. He was lying on his back with a soft carpeted floor below him. He saw the same ceiling that he usually woke up to nowadays, half of it being gray, and another half being red. He sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes to get the crust out. His temples throbbed in pain, but everything else seemed fine. The fact that he could hear himself groaning meant that his hearing had returned, and he couldn't help being glad that he was able to escape from the terrible ringing in his ears.

He got up using the bed as a crutch. It was neatly made and he could tell it was Kurisu's work because of how clean everything looked. It was Kurisu's turn that morning so of course it was made.

 _Was it just a dream? Did I pass out on the floor the night before and have a vivid dream like that?_

Thanks to the existence of multiple worldlines, there'd be occasions where Okabe's dreams were vivid recollections of the past in worldlines he had visited. He had an overwhelming feeling of suspicion as he recalled this dream. It very obviously was a dream that involved his present self because Daru had called him about the aftermath of Operation Vidar. Daru told him that Leskinen was dead, most likely killed by a man who was affiliated with the Committee. Did he just have a vivid guilt-dream that involved memories of the past?

The only way he can get his answer was to talk to Kurisu. He walked out the door, aware of the dull pain that lingered in his head. The world through Okabe's eyes seemed as if it were cast in a shadow. Everything felt darker to him and the more he thought about it, the more eerie everything felt. It was as if the entire world went still. He didn't hear the usual chirping of the birds or the stomps of people in the floors below him. He warily proceeded down the hall, the only sounds he could hear was his own heartbeat that was amplified by the pain in his head and the creaks of the wooden floor of the hall. His breathing stilled to a halt as he slowly made his way down the hall to suppress the noise made at his feet. He focused his hearing, trying to hear _any_ sound that wasn't produced by him. No luck was found in doing so.

He got to the end of the hall and was about to enter the kitchen before he could finally hear it. A low hum over the sound of eggs cooking on a pan. Following the sound was the smell of cheese and eggs that invaded his nostrils. Relief flooded his body when he turned the corner. Kurisu was standing over at the stove, humming a tune that resembled _Toryanse_ ( **Let Me Pass)** as she cooked the usual breakfast. Okabe hadn't heard such a tune in forever - the last time he heard it was in Akihabara before it was enveloped in war 20 years prior.

He didn't want to scare her knowing what had happened years prior so he spoke up. " _Toryanse,_ huh? Do we still use that for our crosswalks back in Japan?"

Kurisu never flinched, still humming the same song. Okabe's brow furrowed.

"Christina? Are you hard of hearing now that you've gotten older?"

That had to get a rise out of her. If she willfully ignored him the first time, there was no way she'd ignore him if he said her trigger-word with an added insult. In response, Kurisu stopped humming the song.

"Okarin, dear," her response lacked the life and spunk she usually had. "Your food is ready."

Her voice was monotonous, as if she were dead on the inside. Okabe remembered this type of characteristic well in people who were mentally scarred to the point that they were no longer themselves. He felt his heartbeat rise, making his head throb with more and more force.

"Kurisu?"

He walked up to get closer. He wanted to get to her quickly, but it felt like his legs were filled with lead.

Meanwhile, Kurisu had taken the pan off the stovetop and flipped the omelette. She was uncharacteristically inaccurate and the omelette broke on the edge of the pan, causing half its contents to spill out. The remains of the hot omelette spilled all over Kurisu's bare feet, but she didn't so much as move.

"Oh, it broke."

That was all that was uttered from her mouth. It was the same monotone voice that greeted him. There were no screams in pain, no frantic movement to try to get the hot material off her feet - there was nothing human about her reaction to the omelette spilling all over the floor.

"Kurisu!"

The lead seemingly disappeared from his legs as he lurched forward toward her. He grabbed a towel and dove down to wipe the insanely hot globs of egg and cheese off Kurisu's feet. He could feel stinging pain in his hands even though they were covered by the towel, yet Kurisu stood still as if she didn't feel the pain he could feel. She resumed humming the song as if nothing happened, pouring the other half of the omelette on a plate.

Her skin was blistered and bright red. At close glance, he could see that some of it melted away, exposing the muscles in her feet.

"Kurisu!"

He shot up from his spot and tried getting between her and the stove so that he could push her away from the rest of the hot stuff on the ground. She showed unnatural strength as he tried to force his way through. Her arms never so much as broke contact with the stove-top, and he never was able to face her.

"Kurisu! The flesh on your feet is necrotizing! We need to get you to a hospital, now!"

No matter how much he yelled in her ear, she never reacted to him. She kept her focus on the plate, not showing her face to him whatsoever. He grabbed her shoulder to try to shake her to attention.

"Kurisu!" he was getting desperate. "Listen to-!"

Her head snapped in his direction at an unnatural speed, cutting him off. He should have been happy, but all he could do was gasp in terror at the sight before him. He backed away, speechless.

Her eyes were missing. All that was visible was the gore and flesh that remained after having them seemingly gouged out of her sockets. A line of blood ran down from her eyes, a line that he didn't see before because her face was blocked until she faced him. Her beautiful, soft, violet eyes were no longer there. He suppressed a scream that seemed to be building in his throat when he first saw her face. This wasn't normal. He had never seen this before.

She flashed a crooked smile at him. Blood spilled out of her mouth as she opened it, revealing two rows of teeth that were stained dark red.

"Is that you, Okarin?" she asked, her monotone voice betraying the smile she had plastered on her face. "Aren't you hungry? Let's eat."

He looked at the plate she was serving, and instead of the omelette that he had seen earlier, there was a purple, viscuous mass that adorned it. He swore just earlier it was a broken omelette, but it seemed like his sight betrayed him.

He slowly guided his eyes down at the floor. Instead of the hot glob of egg and cheese was another part to the purple mass that was on the plate. He had to swallow vomit as the scent of iron hit his nose. There was blood all over the floor. He covered his mouth with his hand to suppress another scream, but even his hand was moist. He pulled it away from his face only to reveal more blood that had covered his entire palm. Whatever was in his stomach forced its way out of his throat and onto the floor from what he saw.

"W-what the hell is this?!"

Kurisu's head tilted almost 90 degrees in response to Okabe. "It's an omelette, silly."

The pain in his head got more intense. He winced in surprise to the sudden feeling and backed away from whatever the hell was facing him. His bloodied hand instinctively went up to his temple to try and soothe the pain, but all Okabe could think about was who was in front of him.

He was in total disbelief. He was shocked, apalled, and utterly mortified. The sights of war were ghastly in their own right, but he got used to it because that's just the way the world worked. This was something else. Something as cruel as this isn't supposed to happen in a peaceful worldline.

 _This is supposed to be Steins Gate! This is supposed to be a world where Kurisu and Mayuri could both live happily! So why, why am I seeing something that belongs on that other hellish worldline?! Why am I seeing Kurisu suffer a fate worse than soldiers and civilians who were caught in Tokyo's firebombing?! WHY THE FUCK IS THIS HAPPENING?!_

He was interrupted by a dripping sound. Kurisu walked in his direction at a slow pace, plate in hand. With each step she took, more of her own blood spilled to the tan, tiled floor. None of the blood from her face fell, it came from another source. He was frozen in place, unable to move because of how terrified he was. His eyes wandered down to Kurisu's abdomen where her white blouse took on a sickly color of dark red - almost black. He snapped out of his shock.

"Kurisu, wait," he put force in his tone, trying to recover some semblance of rationality.

She stopped in her tracks. The dripping came from her abdomen and it never stopped. Okabe closed the distance, trying his best to not be too scared. He had to confirm. He had to see what was causing her bleeding. He had to confront the sight before him. He reached out his hand and carefully lifted up her blouse to try to expose her stomach.

"Heh, Okarin's a pervert," Kurisu commented in the same voice, but Okabe didn't listen.

Kurisu's blood clung to him. It was warm and the smell it emanated enveloped him. Okabe exposed her stomach, and as he did so, the pain in his head became almost insurmountable.

He screamed, backing away from the monster. There was no way this was Kurisu. He recognized the incision on her stomach. It was the type of incision one would make when performing a Cesarean Section. He finally recognized just what was on that plate that she tried handing to him - he recognized what was spread all across the tile floor of the kitchen.

Kurisu dropped the plate and rushed him at full speed. She grabbed his throat with both hands and pinned him against the wall, cutting off his breathing. The plate shattered on the floor, mixing in with the blood. What was left of her eyes looked directly into his, her smile becoming a menacing stare. Tears worked their way out of his eyes - a natural reaction when one had their airways forcefully closed.

"That wasn't nice Okarin," Kurisu's voice remained monotone. "Please don't do that again. It's embarassing for a lady to hear that reaction after you ogle her like that."She stabbed her hand into her own stomach before lifting it back up for Okabe to see. She was too strong. She was capable of lifting Okabe off his feet with just one hand. Blood covered her entire other hand. It was thick and the putrid iron stench was inescapable.

"Let me get your taste buds ready with some ketchup, dear," she said. "I know you love it."

Okabe was gasping for air, but when he realized what she was going to attempt, he slammed his mouth shut. He did his best to ignore the need for air as Kurisu rubbed her hand all over his mouth.

"Come on, Okarin," she said. "I know you want some."

She loosened her grip on his throat, but still kept him in place on the wall. He knew what she was pulling, but he couldn't fight the instinct to open his mouth and gasp for air. He got his wits about him and kicked her as hard as he could in her stomach to try to get her off of him.

Blood spurted out of Kurisu's mouth, landing in his as he gasped for air. She finally reacted properly to something and dropped him to the ground. She collapsed, clutching her stomach and trying to regain her breath.

Okabe closed his eyes. The pain in his head and his need for oxygen overwhelmed him for a second. The previously inescapable stench of iron changed to the pleasant smell that he was met with when he first entered the room. When he opened his eyes, all the gore that covered the entire kitchen was gone. The only remnant of the scene was the taste in Okabe's mouth. His eyes trailed to the floor where he saw Kurisu shaking uncontrollably.

"Kurisu?"

He could hear sobbing. Kurisu looked up to face him. Her gentle, violet eyes had returned. She was tear-stricken, and a look of horror and betrayal was all he could read out of her. Blood streamed from the corners of her mouth as she clenched her teeth from the pain she seemed to be in.

"H-How could you," her voice was hoarse. "Why?"

She coughed up more blood, still clutching her stomach.

"W-What?" Okabe was confused.

He blinked several times, feeling the lingering pain in his head, but the scene before him didn't change whatsoever. Eventually, blood that leaked from beneath her made a puddle around her.

Kurisu stifled a gasp as she tried crawling away from both Okabe and the puddle beneath her. However, no matter how hard she tried, a trail followed her.

"T-The baby..." Kurisu's eyes were wide.

She put her hand to her entrance, feeling more and more blood flow out. Her ragged breaths turned into sobs.

"K-Kurisu!" Okabe finally snapped out of his trance. "Oh my God, I'll call an ambulance!"

Okabe grabbed the phone on the wall and dialed 911, remembering that he was in America. All that he was met with was a dead tone on the other line. No matter how often he tried, he was unable to get a call off.

"Shit! Fine, I'll get you to the hospital myself!"

Okabe ran over to Kurisu to pick her up, but she screamed and insisted on crawling further away.

"Please, someone help me! I don't want to die!"

It was a frantic call for help. She was totally scared, and Okabe couldn't understand why. Did _he_ do this to her? Was what he did to the zombie Kurisu he saw earlier just a filter over what actually happened?

The pain in his head intensified once more, forcing him to stop and close his eyes. He grit his teeth trying to fight back the pain.

He opened his eyes once more. Kurisu, who was once screaming for her life, now layed, lifeless, on the floor. Her violet eyes looked up at the ceiling, but they were doing so aimlessly. The light they were filled with had totally vanished. She was ashen.

"No," was all Okabe could say. "No, no, no, no, no, no."

He fell to the floor next to Kurisu. He placed her head on his lap as he caressed her cold face. All that Okabe could remember was the day he stabbed her. He caused this. He killed her. Again.

Tears fell from his eyes onto her face.

"Don't do this to me, Kurisu," he pleaded with her body. "Please. Wake up. I can't lose you again."

There was no response. Her dead eyes just looked straight past him. Okabe was just about ready to snap. He tried so hard, yet he was met with suffering once again. This was his punishment for circumventing the laws of time. The universe punished him once again, as it always has because of his foolish tendencies. Here he was, holding the body of the woman he loved, again. He let out a loud, guttural cry in anguish over what he had just done. At this point, all he could do was cry. There was no point in anything else anymore. Kurisu died because of him even though this wasn't supposed to be a Beta worldline. No matter where he was, the universe was always going to remind him of the sins he committed.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"

The voice of another man stopped him mid-shout. It was the same voice he heard before his dream ended. Okabe looked up from his spot and saw the same disheveled man that stood at the entrance of his bedroom earlier. Now, he blocked off the kitchen from the rest of his home.

"You know, Okabe-kun," he said. "I always took you for a man who was so madly in love, he'd never do anything to hurt his significant other even if she was trying to kill him. You've just given me quite a pleasant surprise!"

The man walked up to Okabe slowly with his hands in his pockets. His smile was as sinister as it was when he first saw him. He lifted his leg and kicked Okabe in the face. His foot connected with Okabe's nose, sending him flying back into the counter.

"You've put on quite a show," he said before looking down at Kurisu. "Don't you agree, Kurisu-kun?"

Okabe watched the man look down at Kurisu, unmoving, staring into her eyes. He watched Kurisu's head point upwards then downwards in quick succession. She nodded. Okabe's mind was at its breaking point. He just watched the lifeless body of the woman he loved make an action only someone who was alive could make.

"I honestly didn't think you'd be capable of killing her with _one_ kick to the abdomen," he laughed. "You've got strong legs and your accuracy is amazing, Okabe-kun. Did you train in fighting while I was locked away?"

Okabe looked up at him, tears streaming down his eyes and blood pouring out his nose. "Who are you?"

The man dramatically clutched at his heart and fell to the ground with a short cry.

"You're cruel, Okabe-kun," he sighed. "I don't look _that_ different, do I? You can't have forgotten your old _Senpai_."

Okabe could only assume that this was Wakui. He remembered this sort of response in his dream when he had asked Kurisu what Wakui was like.

Wakui smiled when he saw recognition flash across Okabe's face. "That's right, I knew you wouldn't forget."

A severe pain hit Okabe's head once more, making him lose consciousness for the briefest moment. When he re-awakened, he found that his legs were bound to a steel chair while his hands were tied to the chair's arms in a dimly lit room. The headache that plagued him the entire time he was previously conscious was noticeably absent. He was sat in front of a table with Wakui in a chair of his own on the other side. His smile was ever-present, and his eyes gleamed with the same exact intensity that they had when Okabe first laid eyes on him.

"You're something else, Okabe-kun," he said. "I was worried your mind wouldn't be able to handle a shared delusion, but you held up impressively well for someone who doesn't have Gigalomania."

 _Delusion? So everything that happened wasn't real?_

"Where's Kurisu?" Okabe ignored whatever Wakui was saying and asked his question hoping for a good answer.

"Straight to the point, huh?" Wakui responded. "Well, I imagine you've studied Gigalomania using my brain, so I guess you wouldn't need explaining on any of those semantics."

Wakui leaned forward, placing his face inches away from Okabe.

"I've merely shown you a possibility of what could happen to her if you don't comply with me," he said in a low voice. "She's living comfortably back at your complex. I don't doubt she's trying to look for you. However, after I'm done doing what I need to with you, I'll be going after her next. As much as I would definitely enjoy having you kill her with your own hands like you did in our delusion, I find her more useful to the Committee alive."

Okabe felt a mixture of relief and fear flood his body.

"You'll be dying regardless, Okabe-kun," Wakui leaned back in his chair. "The Phoenix has been on the Committee's kill-list for several years and, while they only set me free to kill your old friend Leskinen, I intend on going above-and-beyond. First, you'll give me information about that resistance of yours so that I can share it with the Committee, then I'll kill you. I _will_ become their favorite. I _will_ be going to the New World."

"What makes you think I'm The Phoenix?" Okabe could only hope that he'd be able to talk himself out of such a situation.

"That stupid nickname of yours gave it away," Wakui said. "What was it - Houolin Kima? Ah, it doesn't matter. You were always anal about explaining the kanji of that name back in high school, and you, being the dimwitted idiot you are, used a codename that was one of the characters that made up that stupid name. Couple that with your actions against the Committee - most notably against me - and _voila_ , you've been caught by the one person who could have possibly put the pieces of the puzzle together."

Okabe couldn't believe it. He was discovered because of his actions as a high schooler around someone who'd grow to be a member of the Committee of 300. The only comfort he could feel was in the fact that only Wakui knew his identity. He talked as if he wasn't keen on revealing the fact that he had captured Okabe, only because he'd possibly be ordered to execute him without being able to have his fun.

"I _do_ intend on repaying you for the suffering you've caused me these past 20 years," Wakui slyly said. "However, as I've said before, your wife will live or die depending on how willing you are to reveal the whereabouts of the rest of your leader-friends in that group you call a resistance."

Wakui got up and pushed the table aside before sitting down once more. He crossed his arms and placed one leg over the other.

"The rules for this interrogation are simple," he explained it like it was a game. "You tell me everything you know, and I'll kill you painlessly. If you think about keeping an answer hidden, or if you try obfuscating the truth, I will add an element of pain to the mix. If you die from the pain before I have a chance to kill you, then I will go ahead and put your wife through this exact same process and kill her too."

Okabe grit his teeth in anger. "I swear, if you lay a finger on her..."

"You'll do what?" Wakui mocked him. "You're at my mercy now, Okabe-kun. If you comply, then your wife will continue to live a prosperous life with that brat in her stomach as a member of the Committee. I think that's generous enough considering what the both of you have put me through."

Wakui cleared his throat. "Now, let's begin. Let's start with Neidhardt. I'd like their real name and their whereabouts."

Takumi Nishijou.

"I don't know," Okabe tried lying.

"Now, that's no good, Okabe-kun," Wakui sighed. "You could have gone with any lie, but you chose _that_? It's not like I'm complaining. I was hoping you'd put up some struggle."

Wakui looked at Okabe with a gleeful smile, but he remained still. Okabe then felt a pulling sensation on his left forefinger followed by immediate stabbing pain. He looked down and saw that his nail had totally flown off from his finger, exposing the red flesh beneath it. He gasped in response to the extreme pain he felt, but it was nothing compared to what he's been put through on previous worldlines. The pain lingered, and he felt blood gush out each time his heart beat, but he remained quiet.

Wakui laughed. "Impressive! I'd have thought you'd scream at that! It's going to be so much fun breaking you, Okabe-kun."

He peered at Okabe over the rim of his glasses.

"As an added bonus to your struggle, I'll know when you lie. I've been specially trained by the Committee and I'm still good at detecting lies mind you, but you're making it too obvious right now. Anyway, we already know that Neidhardt is Nishijou Takumi-kun, we just don't know where he's gone. You failed the tutorial already, Okabe-kun, but you could rectify that. Where is he?"

He didn't know what to do. He was going to die regardless, but he had the choice of sacrificing Valkyrie or sacrificing Kurisu alongside with him. Over the past week, Okabe had learned everything there was to know about the leadership structure of Valkyrie, so there was no way he'd able to plead ignorance because of Reading Steiner. He tried thinking of what to say, but before long, he could feel a stabbing sensation in the same finger where his nail was ripped off. He looked over to his left to see a giant, beautifully terrifying sword placed just above his hand.

"While you wouldn't live long enough to see it grow back, I'd imagine you wouldn't want me to permanently damange your nail matrix, do you?"

The sight of the sword itself - not the pain he felt - prompted Okabe to speak. "He's in Shibuya!"

Okabe shut his eyes to avoid seeing such a weapon.

"Oh?"

"He moved back to Shibuya and stayed there once Japan was freed from the Committee's influence."

Okabe could feel the stabbing pain go away. He opened his eyes once more to see that the sword had disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

"You see how easy that is?" Wakui spread his arms. "As much as I would love to make you suffer, I'm a man of my word first and foremost. Just tell me everything truthfully and I can make your death easier than you deserve."

His voice went from boisterous to a low growl at the drop of a hat.

"Let's continue then, shall we?"

Wakui looked directly into Okabe's eyes.

"Tell me. Who and where is Salieri?"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry, I made the wait for the next chapter worse than I would have if I left it at the cliffhanger in Chapter 14. But yeah, this will honestly be my last chapter for the next month and a half so that I can get situated for university. I hope I didn't make your guys' hearts stop too much when you saw Kurisu "die" as suddenly as she did, haha, but that's the nature of delusions - they're so vivid that you can't tell whether or not they're real. Anyway, this was your first taste at a totally hopeless chapter. It pained me to write something so negative, but it's something that _must_ be done. I hope you can forgive me for making you wait! I promise that the chapter that awaits will be extra long just to compensate for the wait!**

 **As always, thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a review! I'm always excited to hear your thoughts on how I'm directing the story so far! I promise I won't forget this fic! It will be finished! I appreciate everyone's support, it means a lot that I can entertain you all.**

 **~Quil**


	20. Chapter 16

**A/N: And with this my hiatus has briefly been cleared. This one was quite the adventure to work on only because of all the stuff going on in the background of my life, but I'm never one to disappoint. Here's the next chapter to the story. Enjoy~**

* * *

 ** _Date: September 23, 2017_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)_**

 ** _Time until Overwrite: 19 years, 1 month, 23 days._**

Kurisu watched as the sword lit up in Mio's hand. She couldn't help feel amazed at how her "protegee" was able to reverse-engineer something from the Committee by just looking at a couple of AH Tokyo General's records. Mio said that the sword itself wasn't able to harness as much negative energy as it should because of how she had to rush its creation lest she accidentally forget _anything_ that made up the sword and what powered it.

"fun^10 x int^40 = ir2..." she recited the equation that made up the process in being able to engage with the Dirac Sea.

She made the trip to Japan in order to see the sword for herself. She could hardly believe what Mio was telling her over the phone, so she had to see it for herself, but even then she found her common sense at odds with what was before her. Okabe, being the curious bastard that he was, tagged along when he heard that Kurisu was visiting Japan. Both of them sat back as they watched the sword float out of Mio's hands and twirl around her. She only allowed him to be there because of the fact that he helped deal with Wakui, so she hoped that his knowledge of the existence of Gigalomania would quell his delusional ramblings and actually allow him to seriously contribute to the conversation.

Here, in the makeshift lab they made in the basement of the Wako City Institute of Neuroscience, they were able to test the more bizarre aspect of brain science such as the aspect of quantum mechanics and how they apply to the brain in terms of the Di-Sword.

The sword returned to Mio's hand and "powered off" in a sense. "It's hard to control for too long because it hurts my head once I start trying to harness negative energy into the sword."

Okabe put his hand up to his chin, deep in thought, yet still watching the sword closely. "It seems like something that'd be easily solved if the sword was connected to something that acted as your brain so that all the stresses that come from trying to access an infinite vaccuum like that are directed there instead."

"That's what Noah II was for," Mio said.

"'Noah II?" Kurisu asked.

"Think of it like an artificial Gigalomaniac. NOZOMI developed it in order to rival the power of natural Gigalomaniacs, and it operated on samples from whatever Gigalomaniac they could find. It replicated the parts of the brain enhanced by Gigalomania and was able to access the Dirac Sea without destroying itself. At least, that's what I was able to gather from Nishijou and the hospital's records."

"So if you take the power generated by Noah and broadcast it to wireless, mobile terminals, one would be able to use it as their second brain while they harness negative energy from the Dirac Sea into the Di-Sword."

Kurisu was able to finish the thought albeit still being cynical about the whole thing. Sure, she saw the sword flying about, but to believe quantum mechanics operating at such a level that it drastically affects human perception of the world around them was another story.

"A magical sword attached to some sort of terminal - most likely a backpack that receives signals from some ugly machine," Okabe snickered. "It's like we're living in some failed shounen manga that doesn't know what genre it wants to fit in."

"Sometimes the truth to the universe isn't as amazing as your peabrain wants to imagine, Rintaro."

Kurisu glared at Okabe, worried that he might begin spouting delusional nonsense in front of Mio again. She had heard of their standoff when Mio sought a place to be able to keep a couple Gigalomaniacs afflicted with Chaos Child Syndrome safe from what was happening in Shibuya at the time. Of course, as far as she could tell, the rift between the two had not closed one bit so she had to act as a middle-woman.

"Might I remind you that this 'peabrain' was the one that captured Wakui for you two?"

"You're forgetting the fact that Sakihata helped you," Mio clarified. "Using a Gigalomaniac to capture a Gigalomaniac is expected and I'm sure you had absolutely nothing to do with the process."

Okabe was getting visibly annoyed. Kurisu stepped in before Okabe could retort.

"Regardless," she said. "I take it you want to pursue creating something akin to Noah so that we could add another weapon against the Committee?"

"Yeah," Mio took off the headgear that was attached the sword. "The headgear alone is enough to power the sword, sure, but I have absolutely no idea just how harmful it could be to one's brain without the help of the same enhancements that Gigalomaniacs possess."

"I want to try," Okabe suddenly moved and swiped the headgear - with the sword attached to it - out of Mio's hand. "Maybe you're just bad at this."

Mio growled at him. "Gigalomania isn't just some trait that you can train or hone. It's entirely biological, dumbass."

Kurisu watched as Okabe put the headgear on. While she was angry at him for seemingly wanting to incite hatred within Mio, she couldn't help being curious at just what he might be able to do with the sword. He was the most prone out of the three to succumb to his delusions, so it was possible that he might be able to handle the sword without needing some other power source.

"How do you turn this thing on?"

"I want to see you figure it out for yourself, peabrain."

Kurisu felt a mixture of pride and embarassment as Mio followed in her footsteps when it came to what kinds of names they'd call Okabe. Pride over the fact that Mio recognized just what kind of challenge it was to deal with Okabe. Embarassment because even with how challenging it was to talk with Okabe, she couldn't stop loving him the way she did; while her namecalling was mostly just a way to fight back his personality, she could tell Mio entirely weaponized her words to try to dig under Okabe's skin more than he could against her.

Kurisu watched Okabe focus his eyes onto the sword and glare at it as if he were trying to scare it to turn on.

Much to both his and Mio's surprise, the sword lit up just as it did in Mio's hands earlier. He let out the same mad cackling that he always did. Sometimes it got a little overbearing, but Kurisu couldn't help thinking that it fit the situation way too well.

"So," he said. "You said that all I have to do is imagine something and then force that thought into both of your heads in order for it to become reality?"

Mio grunted in response.

Okabe turned to Kurisu. "Don't you think it's time I show Kunosato the weight that each and every single one of our actions holds?"

Kurisu tilted her head in response, confused. "What?"

"This peabrain of mine holds memories of every single worldline that I've ever been forced to witness. Kunosato very obviously is in disbelief of just how important someone like me, the great Hououin Kyouma, is to this fabric of reality... so maybe it's time I show her firsthand."

Okabe's smile turned wicked. Kurisu was used to seeing all sorts of smug smiles out of Okabe, but this one was different. All she could feel was unease from the combination of that smile and his statement.

Mio looked at her, then back at Okabe. She glared at him then backed away warily, as if she were expecting an attack from him. She grit her teeth, trying to be ready for whatever he was going to try and do to her.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't do it Rintaro! Don't let this childish grudge make things worse for all of us!"

Kurisu yelled at him, but it was too late. By then, Okabe had already acted.

Okabe had pointed the sword at Mio and stood there. Kurisu followed the tip of the sword toward its target and could only gasp at what she saw. Mio was frozen in place, her eyes looking up at the ceiling in an unfocused state. Her mouth was agape and it seemed like she was trying to let some sort of sound out, but she couldn't. She looked back at Okabe who had tears streaming down his cheeks, but anger was still plastered all over his face. In order to force those memories into Mio's head, he had to remember them first, and she was certain that recalling such memories were just as - if not more - painful than Mio experiencing them for the first time.

She had heard what the both of them had to say about their first encounter with each other. No matter how much she tried to calm the both of them down, they both held total resentment toward each other for their own reasons - Okabe because he was totally talked down to despite Mio not knowing him, and Mio because Okabe seemed to do everything in his power to slow down her attempts to reach safety with the Chaos Children.

"Rintaro!"

She cried out his name, but to no avail. It seemed like the both of them were fighting a battle that she was unable to see. She then remembered what Mio had said about how using the sword would not be without inflicting damage on oneself if the person using it didn't display Gigalomania.

She ran from her spot to Okabe who was a couple paces away. Both of them were stuck in the same position, and Okabe never made a move to acknowledge the fact that Kurisu was rushing toward him.

Without hesitation, Kurisu slapped Okabe as hard as she could across the face. The slap was so hard that it knocked the headgear off of his head, thus ending his mental assault on Mio. It seemed like the invisible force that held Mio went away, and Mio fell to the floor. Okabe on the other hand, stayed up and dropped the sword in response to Kurisu's slap.

He rubbed his cheek. "Thanks for that. I didn't know how to stop it."

He laughed as if nothing happened. She could only imagine the memories that he forced Mio to endure. He told her about what he's had to experience and how he'd never wish that upon anyone, yet he still went and forced Mio through it all. What the hell was his problem?

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she berated him right in his face. What angered her more was that he retained a jubilant smile despite her harsh words.

Mio could be heard shuffling around behind her. She turned around to make sure Mio was okay and was met with a very red-faced and upset girl. It definitely wasn't the kind of reaction someone would have to having memories of death and despair forced into their head.

"You..." Mio recovered her words. "You narcissistic pervert!"

"What?" Kurisu couldn't help voicing her concern over what was said.

She turned to Okabe. "What did you show her?"

All Okabe did was chuckle, slight hints of red appearing on his face as well. Everything going on made Kurisu even more upset and even more confused than when Okabe first mentally attacked Mio.

"What does fucking Kurisu in that dingy apartment have anything to do with preserving the fabric of reality!"

Kurisu's face turned bright red when she heard what Mio said. Now, she was probably even more angry with Okabe than she was when she assumed he was trying to hurt Mio.

"W-What does she mean, Rintaro?"

Okabe's eyes went wide, realizing the situation.

"W-Well you see here, Assistant," he started saying. "I was trying to show her the shenanigans we pulled with the Phonewave on the Alpha Attractor Field, but my mind was stuck on my last day there..."

Kurisu gasped. Okabe never told her about that. Sure, she may have had dreams about it, but she brushed them off as dreams and not actual events! She never thought that she actually had sex with this guy! Okabe raised his arms in an attempt to tell her to calm down. Kurisu was furious. Not only had he kept such a fact to himself, he also showed Mio what they did in vivid detail!

"I-I swear I didn't mean to do that!" he tried explaining. "It's just, that moment will forever remain ingrained in my hippocampus, and it'll always be the first thing my mind wanders to when recalling the good times I spent in the lab during that summer. I didn't _actually_ want to show her-"

"And?" Kurisu interrupted him. "What were those tears for, huh? Was I such a bad lay that you cry whenever you recall that memory?! You jerk!"

Kurisu momentarily forgot where she was at the moment. Not once in her life did she ever think that she'd be berating some guy about how insensitive he was being about having sex with her in a totally different reality.

"N-No!" Okabe responded. "My head was killing me when I started sharing those memories with Mio, so I couldn't hold back the tears. I swear on my life that was the case, Kurisu!"

She knew he was serious when he recalled her by her real name. Regardless, she absolutely could _not_ forgive him for keeping such intimate details about their relationship in another worldline a secret! Even less so for sharing those details with Mio, even though it was unintentional!

"You idiot!" she screamed at him before slapping him in the face again.

It took her a couple minutes to finally settle down, but everything got back to normal, or as normal as normal _could_ be now that Mio was aware of some details that never needed to be shared. Mio kept tossing glances at both Okabe and Kurisu while they talked about what was needed to get their version of Noah up and running in order to bring the fight to the Committee.

"The problem is that we need to remove the uncertainty principle from all this," Okabe said. "In order to properly channel free quantum antiparticles within the Dirac Sea, we have get the machine itself to accurately measure where they are in relation to each other."

Kurisu wasn't surprised that Okabe knew this kind of stuff. Sure, he was previously an engineering student at Tokyo Denki, but he studied hard in the field of quantum brain mechanics just so he could join the research institute at Victor Chondria while he was pursuing post-graduate work at the university.

"Yes, but, wouldn't we be able to make an eigenstate of position for Dirac deltas?" Mio answered as if she forgot who she was talking to. "I mean, it's not as accurate as pinpointing _both_ the position and the momentum of free quantum particles, but as long as we're able to create Dirac deltas and at least pinpoint their _position_ , it should work just as fine. Besides, from what I've gathered from Wakui's brain, there's nothing particularly special about it that can make such precise quantum measurements with little-to-no help."

Kurisu was lost, but not totally so. Her specialty was neuroscience and she dabbled in particle physics every now and then, but she felt it best to leave the nitty-gritty of quantum brain mechanics to the specialists.

She was about to speak up for clarification before another voice interrupted her.

"I won't allow this to continue," the voice said.

Kurisu and the other two looked in the direction of the entrance.

A dark-haired woman approached the two of them with a popsicle stick hanging out of her mouth. She wore a white blouse with a blue undershirt underneath it. Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the sword which was now in Mio's hand. She scrunched her nose and spit out the popsicle stick.

"Who are you?" Kurisu was the first to ask.

"It doesn't matter," the girl responded. "What matters is that none of you attempt to recreate that machine."

She pointed her arm at Mio who was the closest and a sword appeared out of thin air in front of her. The sword was the exact same design as the one that Mio currently had in her hands, but there was something about it that made it both more wicked and more beautiful than Mio's artificial one.

Mio grit her teeth. "Aoi Sena, huh..."

Sena ignored Mio's realization. "That equation you're using to power that fake nearly killed all the world's possibilities. I do not intend on allowing a repeat of those same events happen under my watch."

"Listen, girl," Okabe spoke up. "I don't care who you a- wait have we met before?"

Okabe's Hououin Kyouma act was dropped as quickly as it was donned when he felt he recognized just who Sena was.

Sena looked at Okabe and scoffed. "You're the idiot I met on the streets all those years ago."

The fact that she remembered such a random encounter with a stranger was odd. However, when Kurisu gave it more thought, she knew for a fact that any random encounter with Okabe was going to be unforgettable for better or for worse.

"How'd you get in here?"

Mio asked the question, ignoring what Okabe said. She had the sword ready to strike, except Kurisu knew it'd do nothing against the sword of the Gigalomaniac it was based off of.

"You can drop the weapon," Sena regarded Mio with very little importance. "Or keep it raised if you intend on continuing your research with that equation. Sakihata was stupid for not stopping this sooner."

Sakihata. That was the girl that helped Okabe capture Wakui.

Sena's eyes landed on Kurisu, making her feel the full force of a stare that could kill. Naturally, Kurisu didn't back down and looked right back into Sena's eyes, challenging her. Sena took the challenge and started walking toward her, ignoring both Okabe and Mio. She closed the distance enough that she'd be able to stab Kurisu if she extended her arm out enough.

"You're not a member of this lab," Kurisu said unafraid. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Not until I'm sure that none of you will even try to recreate that wretched machine."

"Those matters are classified. I don't care if you know Sakihata-san, your presence here is not a welcome one."

Sena gripped her sword even harder and clenched her teeth. "Do you want to destroy this world?!"

"You know better than anyone that we're trying to keep it from falling into the wrong hands."

Both women were in each other's faces, neither of them willing to give up any ground to the other. Kurisu was conscious of Sena's concerns, but she felt that the need to research the equation was more pressing than making sure that Sena was happy with the way the world currently was. Sena's violet eyes pierced her very being, but she wasn't going to let her win through mere intimidation.

"There are ways protect the world without attempting to recreate Noah II," Sena growled. "You'd only accelerate our demise if you went ahead with your research."

"Oh? And where do you get this foresight?"

"Experience."

"Both of you, back away from each other," a male voice ordered. "Now."

It was Okabe. Kurisu had gotten so into it with Sena that she zoned out the existence of the other two in the room. Before she knew it, her face was mere inches away from Sena's.

Kurisu wasn't used to Okabe sounding so serious, so his tone of voice surprised her enough to break eye contact with Sena. She looked at Okabe, who was now yelling at her to get down. He ran toward her and dove at her in an attempt to tackle her.

At the time she broke eye-contact with Sena, the dark-haired woman had decided to take a swing at Kurisu in hopes of ending all talks of such a dangerous equation. Sena didn't care if she had to kill all three in the room if it meant to keep the world safe. However, as she swung, Okabe got in between the blade and Kurisu, getting his back sliced open in the process of getting her to the floor.

The attack garnered a scream from Okabe before he quickly passed out. The pain and the amount of blood he lost from a single swipe was enough to incapacitate him the moment he hit the floor with Kurisu beneath him. Kurisu felt a pain in her head, probably from hitting the ground the way she did, but she ignored it. The first matter of importance was Okabe.

"Rintaro?!"

She wriggled out from underneath him, leaving him lying on his belly. His blood was all over her clothes and drenched her enough to the point that she could feel the weight of it.

"Oh my God, Rintaro!"

Kurisu couldn't think about anything anymore. Okabe was lying in a pool of blood that was only growing, and his body had totally stopped moving. She didn't know what hurt worse, her heart or her head.

"Why you..."

Mio was behind Sena and had already powered the Di-Sword in her hand. She swiped at Sena who merely blocked the attack with one arm without even turning to face her. She pushed Mio back as she raised the sword and twirled to face Mio. The difference in skill was apparent. Sena looked like a dancer as she twirled about with the Di-Sword while Mio stabbed at her with crude, heavy attacks. The exchange was lasting longer than it should have only because Sena was toying with the hilariously outmatched girl.

"What do you hope to gain by telegraphing every attack you've made against me?"

She hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Break the delusion."

Mio was panting, but her voice still held firm. She also clenched her teeth in apparent pain. Was she having the same headache that Kurisu was?

"So you were able to recognize it, huh," Sena stopped and let the sword dissipate. "I'd almost applaud your deduction if you weren't hopelessly waving your sword around like it was a plank of wood just moments prior."

In almost an instant, it felt like the world shifted around Kurisu. Instead of sitting, she now found herself standing in the same spot with Sena right in front of her as she was before. She felt the weight of Okabe's blood vanish along with Okabe's body. She looked around, totally bewildered by what she had just seen. It was almost as if those last couple seconds didn't happen. Along with the world seemingly resetting, the pain in her head had totally subsided.

Okabe was just a couple paces away like he was before he got cut. He was just as utterly confused as Kurisu was. He spun around, trying to feel his back, but there was no evidence of him having been put under the blade just moments prior.

"W-What the hell...?"

It was the only thing that Okabe was capable of uttering. On any other day, Kurisu would have been appreciative of the person who was able to stun the stubborn Hououin Kyouma, but today wasn't one of those days. She just saw Okabe die in front of her only to come back unscathed. She swore it all felt so real. She looked back at Sena who was already staring down on her.

At this point, it was apparent that Kurisu lost the standoff. She was too shocked to even consider anything.

Sena smirked before turning around and walking away.

"I'll let you keep that sword as a reminder of your success," she said. "If there's any more talk of recreating Noah, I will not hesitate to kill you all the next time we meet."

The door leading out of the lab slid open to let her through. Mio fell to her knees, using the sword as a crutch. Kurisu looked at Okabe who was staring in disbelief at the woman who had single-handedly stunned them all. She quickly walked over to him and hugged him as tight as she could.

Despite the squeezing that Kurisu put Okabe through, he returned the hug as gently as he could.

"Please," she said close to tears. "Don't scare me like that."

"That really wasn't-" Kurisu buried her head deeper into Okabe's chest, shutting him up.

"I don't want you to die because of me," Kurisu pleaded with him.

"Alright, Kurisu," he rested his chin ontop of her head. "I promise I'll stay alive... but I can't promise I won't protect you at all costs."

* * *

Okabe breathing was ragged. His eyes were close to being swollen shut, and he could hardly hear anymore due to whatever was pouring out of his ears. There was no way he'd return to normal if he was capable of escaping from this hellish experience. His arms and legs were totally limp, and he was basically bleeding out of his mouth. He could feel deep down that he wouldn't be the same if he was ever able to escape the hellish situation that he currently found himself in.

His hands and feet were broken, and each and every nail on his right hand had been torn off. He'd been through torture before - rather other versions of him have been through torture before, but his desire to keep those he loved safe overrode his fear to survive. He'd lived through an eternity of hell just through trying to save Mayuri, let alone having to survive in the apocalyptic landscape that was the world on the Beta Attractor Field. If anything, this was like nothing to him. But, Wakui's words kept ringing in his head. If he died before Wakui got his answers, Kurisu would be put through the same situation and be killed.

"You know, Okabe-kun," Wakui finally said after nonstop torture with that horrific sword of his. "You're being stubbornly unresponsive even though this is just another part to the tutorial."

Okabe coughed up blood in an attempt at gasping. Wakui was able to understand what he was attempting to do.

"Did you really think I wouldn't put you through the test once more?" he laughed. "Granted, I enjoyed every last bit of the fun you have given me, but I _do_ have to remind you that your wife will go through this process if you die."

"You're... lying," Okabe was able to work out of his throat. "You... don't know... who Salieri is..."

Okabe coughed up more blood. He wasn't confident in his chance to live if this kept up. He knew he had to start talking at some point lest he risk death and open up the chance for Wakui to take away the very person he worked so hard to save.

He didn't fear death. He would have welcomed it long ago, but he knew he had to continue fighting for the sake of keeping his loved ones safe. The same probably couldn't be said for the version that came before him, but this Okabe's sense of mortality had gone missing ever since the war escalated on the Beta worldlines. Just the fact that he knew Kurisu was in danger was the only reason why he struggled as much as he did in order to survive.

"Of course I know who Salieri is," Wakui closed the distance between their faces and looked right into his eyes. "Her name is Hiyajo Maho-sama."

 _-sama?_ Okabe was so used to Wakui using titles that would give him a sense of superiority that hearing such a title for Maho caught him totally off guard.

"Oh," Wakui seemed to have realized his mistake. "Slip of the tongue."

Wakui summoned the sword once more and aimed it at Okabe's right shoulder.

"My mind's been caught on the prospect of you calling me Wakui-sama," he stabbed tentatively at Okabe's shoulder, piercing it and causing Okabe to scream. "If you call me that, then maybe you can keep your shoulder."

This wasn't a part of the interrogation. Wakui legitimately wanted to look for any excuse to cause Okabe as much pain as he possibly could before he broke. Another thing that Okabe lost was his pride. Given the war, he had to do _anything_ to survive, even if it meant prostrating himself for the meantime just to live.

"Wakui... sama," he said still feeling the searing heat from the sword piercing his shoulder and cutting through his bone like paper.

"Why is it that I just don't like the way you said it?" Wakui's sword dug deeper into his shoulder, practically setting Okabe's shoulder on fire. "Make it sound more pleading, will you?"

"I beg you... Wakui-sama!" he yelled.

"Beg me to what?" Wakui had twisted the sword, making Okabe cry out in pain.

Okabe could feel tears working their way out of his eyes.

"Please... stop!"

Wakui had finally pulled the sword out of Okabe's shoulder. Blood poured out of the wound, but it didn't seem like a fatal cut. Sure, Okabe had lost his sense of pride, but he sure as hell didn't enjoy prostrating himself to someone as sick as Wakui.

"You're a feckless coward," Wakui clicked his tongue. "The moment power is taken away from you, you lose that stupid arrogance."

He punched Okabe in the face. Usually Wakui used the sword in some way to inflict damage, but this was the first time he used his bare hands.

"You have no idea what it's like to live for 20 years in that torture chamber!" Wakui kept punching. "You don't know what it's like to be incessantly poked and prodded by purported scientists!"

Okabe could feel himself slipping away. He tried so hard to stay awake, but his eyes felt heavier and heavier with each painful hit that Wakui landed.

"What I'm doing is _nothing_ compared to what you and your band of terrorists have done to me!"

Okabe felt a sharp pain split his head, forcing his eyes shut. He felt the weight and pain that had been inflicted upon him dissipate each passing second. He opened his eyes and he found himself in the dining room of his home, a line of drool connecting him to the table that he had passed out on.

 _Was it all just a dream?_ he thought to himself.

The dream felt all too real, the pain and fear he felt for possibly dying on Kurisu was still heavy on his heart. But everywhere he looked, it seemed like nothing had happened. He looked at the stack of paperwork on his desk. It seemed like he had passed out grading homework, but the thing he found odd was the fact that he didn't recall ever handing out homework to be graded.

He needed to connect the dots as to how he got there. Perhaps it was a Reading Steiner attack and his brain had chosen to follow the routine he had used to use. It was all he was able to assume. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

There was a dull pain in his head, so he used that to explain the possibility of a Reading Steiner overload.

 _Do you really believe that?_ a voice that didn't belong to him asked. _Are you_ that _optimistic about your circumstances?_

It was the same voice that spoke to him when he had to confess to Kurisu that he had drugged Leskinen with the pills. It was the voice of his past self speaking to him once again.

 _It's the only answer I can cope with at this point,_ Okabe thought. _If I really were being tortured just a second ago, then it means I failed at surviving and this is the afterlife that awaits me._

He shuddered at the possibility. If he had died, then it meant he failed at protecting Kurisu. If that were the case, he would have wished the worst possible punishment to await him rather than just life to continue on again as he had dreamed it could in this worldline.

 _For someone who's supposed to be a paranoid soldier, you're really dense,_ the voice chastised him.

 _I'm not a soldier,_ he corrected. _I never was. I was the person sending brave souls to their doom just to ensure that I could survive._

 _That's beside the point. You're still dense._

 _I don't see the point you're trying to make by calling me names._

 _Think back to when you initially came to after Wakui invaded this place. Remember how you woke up? Remember everything you felt - how eerie the world seemed around you even though everything was supposedly normal?_

Okabe was able to connect the dots to what the voice had said. He slowly got out of his chair and started walking around the area, trying to get a sense of what he had felt in the other delusion he was shown. To him, everything felt exactly the same as it did when he first "woke up". The world around him seemed to be frozen in time, the air around him stale and stagnant. The sounds of his neighbors and the general rustle and bustle of the streets outside the building were absent despite the fact that they were supposed to be present 24/7. His attention landed on the dull headache that only seemed to be growing. If everything were to follow the same set of events as the last delusion he was shown, it meant that a vision was going to be produced.

He proceeded down the hallway, looking for any sign of Wakui or normality. If he were being honest with himself, he would have preferred the latter, but his luck seemed to have totally run out ever since arriving on the worldline. The building complex felt like it was slightly tilted, making Okabe feel a large sense of imbalance. He could only really hope that the grogginess was getting to him and that what he was feeling was mere dizziness from entering two totally different states in such a short matter of time. He arrived at the door, still painfully aware of the absence of life around him.

The door slid open to reveal his bedroom. Everything seemed in place just like it had been the last time he was there in real life. The only problem was that the warmness of the red and gray was totally absent. His eyes shifted to the bed where a lone figure inhabited it.

Kurisu was on the bed, beneath the covers, reading a magazine that he couldn't make out. She didn't have her glasses on, and seemed to mindlessly be flipping through the pages. There was nothing irregular about what she was doing, her facial expression seemed like one of boredom instead of blank eyelessness like the previous delusion. She looked up from her reading, probably sensing the fact that the door slid open.

"Oh, you're awake," she smiled. "Sorry I didn't wake you up earlier, I just got a little too caught up in some other things."

"Oh, no," he smiled back. "It's fine. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to sleep through the night on a table like that anyway."

She scooted over from the middle of the bed to free up his spot, inviting him into the covers. He was still in his dress clothes: black slacks, a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up, and a loose black tie.

"You think I can get changed really quick?"

"Nothing's stopping you," she said. "Just make sure you don't fall asleep in the closet too."

He laughed at her joke. Just with that interaction, all doubts were removed from his head. The entire thing with Wakui and torture was just a fever dream brought on by his Reading Steiner and was nowhere near becoming real.

 _You're too easy to fool, you know that?_

He clenched his teeth.

 _It was all a dream,_ he responded. _You're not going to convince me otherwise._

 _Okay, since we're going that route,_ the voice fired back. _Hold Kurisu's hand. This entire time you've noted that something has been off with the way you're perceiving the world, yet it's all thrown out the window when it seems like your wife is acting like she should?_

 _And what almighty truth will be revealed when I hold her hand?_

 _The fact that this world isn't reality. If you hold her hand, and you feel the same way you've felt with this world - cold and lifeless - then you have to accept that this is a delusion you must break out of._

He turned around from his intended target location and began walking back toward the bed where Kurisu lay, flipping through the magazine. She looked up in surprise at an Okabe who still hadn't changed out of his clothes.

"Let me check something really quick," he said without giving her a chance to question anything.

He grabbed a hold of her hand, accidentally crushing the magazine she was holding along with it. He expected - no - he wanted to feel the warmth of her touch as he always did when he woke up next to her. He would have settled for the cool touch of her skin as she tried warming herself up under the covers. However, all he was met with was a feeling that he knew wasn't alive. Having spent time as data in the Time Leap Machine, that eerie feeling of coldness enveloped him, as if his bones had become steel. His heart sank. He tried running away from reality, and now he had to face it.

"Okabe-kun? What's wrong?"

It all began to fall apart. There were no magazines anymore, just pokecoms to use in bed. There was never a time where the area around them was silent, there was always the silent hum of the air conditioning. Human skin was supposed to be cool or warm to the touch, not neither. And Kurisu always called him "Okarin", never "Okabe-kun".

Now that the realization came to be, he had to formulate a way to escape.

He turned around only to find Wakui standing behind him. Mere moments passed before an intense pain spread through his gut. He looked down to find Wakui's sword embedded deep within his stomach. He coughed, spewing out blood.

"I was hoping to toy with you a little longer," he said. "But it seems you were more observant, and I was more careless this time around."

Wakui pulled out the sword, pulling Okabe's stomach contents out along with it. Okabe collapsed, feeling warmth spread throughout his body. He felt his gut pulsating to the beat of his heart, but as time passed his heart beat slower and slower until it no longer had the strength to do so. He closed his eyes, and as he did, pain split his head once more.

He woke up on the dining room table once again. There was a familiar stack of paperwork sitting next to him and drool flowed out of his mouth the same way it did before. This time around he didn't question it. This was a delusionary loop.

He tried to quickly get up, but someone grabbed the back of his head and his face was immediately smashed into the table in front of him, shattering the table and sending him to the ground.

Okabe could feel all the cuts on his face because of the table's glass, but that didn't stop him from trying to move. His arms shakily gathered themselves and he tried pushing off the floor, but a foot immediately came crashing down on his back, leaving him sprawled on the floor.

"Your physical body probably wouldn't be able to handle much more," he could hear the owner of the foot say. "But your mind is still in a much better state than I expected. It'd be a joy to break it just to get all those little secrets of yours loose."

Okabe could feel the air shift around himself before he felt pain shoot up his right arm. He looked down at the source and found that his hand was no longer connected to the rest of his body. The stump that he was left with gushed out blood each time his heart beat. He screamed in fright and in pain. Never in his life had he ever gone through physical torment such as this because of the risk of dying. He tried so hard to move, but he couldn't.

"It seems you get it now," Wakui said from above him. "There's no escaping this hell. And what's more, I can do _whatever_ I want with you without losing your body."

Wakui laughed as he began slashing at Okabe's back, opening very deep wounds. Okabe could feel his lungs being punctured, his ribs breaking, his kidneys bursting, his stomach popping. Okabe could feel every slash that Wakui made. He could feel every organ that had been damaged by the sharp blade. This time, he had passed out due to the pain, but as before, his headache grew in immensity.

Again, he opened his eyes to the familiar dining room table and stack of paperwork. Almost immediately, he shot to his feet and abandoned the table, trying to be prepared for the next onslaught. His eyes darted around the room, surveying the area and trying to find where exactly Wakui would strike from.

 _This is a terrible situation you've found yourself in,_ the voice chirped up from out of nowhere.

 _Your comments are not exactly helping at the moment,_ Okabe let himself get distracted for a moment to respond to his own insanity.

That moment was all it took for Wakui to appear out of Okabe's blindspot and make a slash at his face. Okabe was barely able to react in time, but the tip of Wakui's sword had stabbed his eye, essentially removing it from its socket. Okabe fell back, yelled in pain.

"Now tell me, Okabe-kun," Wakui slowly approached the grounded Okabe. "Who's DaSH?"

Okabe crawled away from the ever-approaching monster, but he knew there was no escaping. However, he also was never going to speak, even if it meant that his mind would be put through a trial he never had to personally face. At least, that was the plan so that he could figure out a way to escape. Had Wakui started lower on the ladder of Valkyrie leaders, then Okabe would have been more inclined to speak to delay the pain, but he had to reassess now that he had started with Daru's codename.

It felt like a hot iron skillet was continuously being applied to Okabe's eye. He held one hand up to cover it while trying to crawl away with the other. Inevitably he got backed into a wall and couldn't move anywhere else.

Wakui stood over him, a smile planted on his face.

"Still won't talk, huh? I don't have a problem with that."

Wakui slashed the air in front of him, separating Okabe's leg from his body. Blood gushed out of the wound, forming a pool around Okabe's body. The pain was worse than when Wakui had taken Okabe's eye, easily forcing a scream out of Okabe's throat.

 _You better start thinking now,_ the voice said beside the pain.

Okabe felt like he was losing himself to delirium. He could see his leg laying uselessly beside him, yet he still couldn't understand just what happened. Okabe's gaze shifted back to Wakui, but he couldn't get a clear picture of him anymore, very likely due to the blood loss.

In a flash, Wakui had cut his throat open. Okabe leaned his head back, trying to breathe even though it was useless. No matter how much he tried, blood kept impeding his ability to intake air. This one was a slow death, a painful one that Wakui merely presided over. It didn't take long for Okabe to lose consciousness, and of course, given that he was in a hell of Wakui's doing, he re-awakened on the same table.

With a clearer head, Okabe stayed down, trying to devise a way to escape the delusion.

 _Come on, Okabe_ , he thought to himself. _There has to be_ something _you can exploit._

Knock, knock knock, knock. Four knocks in a patterned sequence sounded above Okabe, but he kept his head down. If he dared look, he knew that he was going to have to suffer an onslaught.

"Playing dead are we?"

Okabe opened his eyes to find the tip of Wakui's sword protruding out of his chest. An upward force lifted him out of his seat before he got kicked to the floor. It was a single fatal stab. There was no way Wakui didn't hit his heart with that stab. Okabe didn't have the strength to move, as if it was all sucked out of him by that sword.

"So, would you like to speak about DaSH yet?"

Okabe remained silent. He didn't know if he chose to or if he just couldn't find the strength to formulate any words.

"Wrong answer."

Okabe didn't know what felt worse, the pain splitting the back of his head or the pain splitting the front. But as always, he found himself in the same seat on the same table, in the same state.

 _You're going about it wrong,_ the voice told him.

 _How? How am I supposed to go about it?_

Okabe had succumbed to his own insanity. He couldn't believe that he'd start asking questions and expect an answer from a voice in his head.

 _You're going about it as Okabe Rintaro when you very well shouldn't._

Okabe was about to question the voice before he was brought back to "reality" by the fact that the table had collapsed underneath him. Okabe rolled across the floor as he fell to try and capture his balance, but as soon as he got upright he got knocked down again by a kick to the back of the knees.

"Seriously, Okabe-kun, you don't have to be so stubborn," he heard behind him. "You're going to die anyway, so why bother risking the life of your wife?"

"Okarin?"

Okabe's attention darted up to the voice that called out his name.

Kurisu was stood there, at the end of the hallway with a terrified expression on her face. She looked past him at Wakui and let out a gasp. Wakui stepped over Okabe to presumably get to her. Okabe grabbed his leg to try to get him to stop, but Wakui immediately stomped on his face to get him to release the hold.

Okabe could hear Kurisu screaming for him.

"Kurisu! Run!"

It was all he could manage to do. He couldn't get up in time to keep Wakui from reaching her, so he could only hope that she listened to him.

 _Okabe! This is a delusion! It's not real!_ the voice yelled at him.

Okabe clenched his teeth. Wakui had pursued the delusionary Kurisu down the hall. Okabe could hear her screaming and Wakui laughing as he did things that Okabe didn't want to even think about.

 _Listen well, Okabe,_ the voice said. _This is a delusionary world. It's a world you need to break out of._

 _But how?!_

 _Is that even supposed to be a question? There was once a time where no one could match our delusions, don't you remember? We were the best at what we did. It's time you harken back to that attitude._

Okabe got to his knees and looked at the entry to the hall. The screaming had stopped, and he was waiting for Wakui to emerge from there.

 _The war may have blocked the flame of the great Hououin Kyouma, but his spirit still lives deep within you. It's time to awaken once more, Kyouma. Take up the mantle of the mad scientist once more - teach Wakui what insanity properly means._

"Fufu..."

 _The world trembled before you a long time ago. Fate knows not what it means to be victorious against your will. The name of the mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma isn't just a joke to be used to liven up the atmosphere, it is the name of the most feared man to ever stand up against the Organization. That stupid war may have attempted to snuff out your essence, but here you are now. Revive like the great phoenix of old! Re-awaken! Hououin Kyouma!_

Wakui emerged from the hall, his oblivious smile purely evident. Okabe rose to his feet to match Wakui, his mouth spread into the most sinister smile he ever had since July of 2011.

Wakui was bloodied, the blood very likely belonged to the delusionary Kurisu.

"Do you really want such a fate for your beautiful wife?" Wakui asked.

"Fate?"

Okabe - no - Kyouma chuckled at Wakui's ignorance. Wakui's smile vanished almost instantly.

"You dare mention such a pointless aspect of life to me?!"

Kyouma's smile spread much wider before he erupted into that nostalgic boisterous laughter. Kyouma began putting his power to use, imagining a labcoat to elegantly flow beside him. A small pain emerged in his head, but the world did as he commanded, and his silver armor had now become a part of him like it should have from the very beginning.

"I'll wipe that smile clean off your face!"

Wakui was very likely upset that Kyouma was unfazed by the whole situation. Sure, Okabe Rintaro would be fazed by such trivial matters, but Hououin Kyouma cared only for chaos to be wrought upon the world's ruling structure.

Wakui immediately closed the distance between himself and Kyouma, but Kyouma didn't bother moving. Instead he chose to use his very own weapon to fight off the idiot's onslaught.

A phoenix wrapped in white flames emerged from the end of Kyouma's labcoat and flew straight at Wakui's face, stopping him dead in his tracks. However, Wakui closed enough distance to be able to reach Kyouma with his sword. He viciously swung down at Kyouma's left shoulder, and much to his own surprise he connected rather easily. Kyouma remained in his position, allowing his white armor to protect him. The labcoat caught the sword, not allowing it to go any further, but it also didn't let Wakui try to disconnect.

Kyouma raised his right hand to the sky, imagining his most effective weapon to date.

Future Gadget #6, the Cyalume Saber, materialized in his hand. However, unlike the plastic glowstick that he had created back in 2010, the Cyalume Saber's blade was made of concentrated plasma just as it was intended like in _Spark Wars._ Kyouma brought the blade down on the hand which was still firmly grasping the sword caught in his shoulder. As expected, Kyouma cut through the hand like butter.

Wakui yelled in pain and fell backwards. Kyouma used his free hand to grab the sword and toss it back in Wakui's direction. Wakui's face was contorted in anger and bewilderment. Just as Kyouma expected, pain settled in his head and everything shifted back to the very beginning with him waking up on the dining room table.

Without even a second of repreive, Wakui brought both of his fists down on Kyouma's head and smashed his face directly through the table. The blow dazed him, but Kyouma still remained aware of his surroundings. Wakui forcefully turned him onto his back and sunk his sword deep into Okabe's chest.

"Do you really think that cheap tricks will let you escape this hell?! You're not winning here, dimwit! This is _my_ world!"

"Fufu," the humor in that sentence was enough to get Kyouma laughing despite the hole in his chest. "FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

Kyouma pushed up against the sword to get mere inches away from Wakui's face.

"This is going to be your hell, Wakui!"

Wakui screamed back in his face and buried his sword deeper until only the hilt could be seen from his chest. All Kyouma did was laugh beside the pain. He thought up of the most painful delusion ever, almost splitting his head in half. A force of power knocked Wakui off Kyouma, leaving the sword in his chest. Kyouma shakily rose to his feet to meet his thoughts.

It was just three people: Kagari, the Part-time Warrior, and Shining Finger. The three women capable of taking on the world by themselves if they needed to. The sword slipped out of Kyouma's chest, clattering on the floor. Another painful thought and his wounds closed up. However, it didn't just stop at the three women. The four gathered in front of Wakui, forcing him backwards right into the legs of the mountain of a man who called himself Ferdinand Braun.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, punk?" Braun said.

Braun lifted Wakui up by the collar and threw him back at Kyouma who already had the Cyalume Saber ready. Wakui landed neatly atop the blade. It was that moment in itself that successfully made the world around Kyouma collapse. He could feel the pain in his head letting up.

"Before you leave _,_ " the voice re-emerged, but so did a body to go with it.

It was himself, but he could feel a sort of elegance that he knew he lacked.

"All you have to do is move in some way shape or form in the world," he said. "There's a tracker right here just in case there's moments of emergency such as this."

He pointed at a spot in his shoulder.

"I imagine that our servers went down the moment you were kidnapped so it didn't work, but I don't doubt that Daru got everything back up and running again. Tip your chair over and the tracker's defense systems should trip. Use the moment of confusion to get everything done."

The world continued collapsing around them. By then, the delusionary figures that Kyouma had thought up vanished along with the world, leaving only himself and his other self.

"Good luck, Kyouma," his other self said. "Everything's up to you from this point on."

He vanished with the world before a white flash enveloped Kyouma's vision.

Okabe opened his eyes as best he could. He didn't spare any time to think and used whatever adrenaline he had to push his feet against the floor and fall backwards in the chair.

"Why, you...!"

Wakui finally gathered himself, but by then Okabe had already fallen. In an instant, a high-pitched noise reverberated throughout the room. Okabe could hardly hear it because of the damage to his ears, but it was pretty evident that Wakui was affected by it. It was actually enough to incapacitate Wakui for a longer period of time than he actually expected.

Okabe felt pain flooding throughout his entire body, but he did his best to stay awake. He was battered and bloodied, but his will was stronger than before he was pulled into the delusionary world. He kept his eyes as wide open as he possibly could despite the pulsating pain he felt.

Wakui staggered over to Okabe after a long period of nothing but the high-pitched noise playing. His sword was in hand and it seemed like he intended to kill Okabe on the spot.

Wakui raised the sword.

"DIE!"

Before he could bring the sword down on Okabe, the wall behind him was blasted apart. It knocked him forward, making him miss his target by a couple of inches. Okabe couldn't see exactly who or what was going on, but he could only be grateful for the timing. Wakui turned back around only to yell in fear and pain. Okabe didn't know what exactly Wakui saw, but he was slashing around wildly with the sword before it disappeared from his grasp. He collapsed and covered his ears, drool coming out of his mouth.

"This is Warrior," a familiar yet muffled deep voice was heard. "We have secured Kyouma. I repeat, we have secured Kyouma."

The chair was made upright again. The grotesque face of a sumo wrestler was right in front of his face. He didn't understand how such a sight could imbue Wakui with so much fear, but he was okay with it not making sense as long as he was able to live.

"What about Salieri and the Assistant?" a voice on the radio was heard.

"No sign of them anywhere," the man behind the mask said. "I'll get Kyouma to our hospital before I continue my search."

Okabe was confused. He couldn't understand what was happening.

"What... happpened... to them...?" he asked the man behind the mask.

The man took off the mask, letting his long black hair flow messily around his shoulders. Okabe instantly recognized just who it was. He didn't know whether he should have been upset or happy at the sight before him.

Urushibara Luka, a boy so feminine it was unbelievable that he was even a guy. He had grown into a brilliant man just as he always did, yet it seemed like his life still revolved around fighting for the sake of Valkyrie. Okabe never wanted such a fate for him on this worldline, but apparently it couldn't be helped.

"Don't force yourself, Kyouma-san," he said. "Let's get you proper care before you worry about anything else."

Okabe could feel his strength faltering. His head fell forward and he couldn't find the strength to pick it up anymore. His eyes even felt heavier, and he could feel himself closing them.

"Kyouma-san, stay with me!" Luka yelled to no avail. "Kyouma-san!"

The last sounds that Okabe heard were Luka ordering men around to secure both himself and Wakui.

"Kyouma-san, hang in there!"

Warmth flooded his body and the pain dissipated. He welcomed such a feeling with open arms.

* * *

 **A/N: And there it is. My longest chapter to date to make up for the wait that I put you guys through. I think I had a little too much fun in describing the ways that Wakui eviscerated Okabe, but I found it worth it just for the catharsis. Thank you guys for your support throughout this entire ordeal. It's been a blast writing for you guys, and it's fun seeing people eagerly awaiting my next chapters. Please leave a review on what you think or, if you're too nervous, just PM me what you think and you'll even get a response from me! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **Quil~**


	21. Chapter 17

**A/N: Steins;Gate and Science Adventure are owned by Chiyomaru Studio. All characters presented in this story are their own.**

 **Spoilers for the SciADV series run rampant in this fic, so beware.**

* * *

 ** _Date: ?_**

 ** _Divergence: ?_**

 ** _Time until Overwrite: ?_**

Okabe slowly opened his eyes. His face was poking out of a comfortably warm body of water that he wasn't keen on leaving anytime soon. His mucles weren't aching, his head wasn't pounding, and all the pain he previously felt was totally absent.

He opened his eyes to the universe before him. He, who was laying down in what seemed like an endless expanse of a calm, warm, ocean, saw all the stars laid bare to him. The night sky was sparkling with an immensity that he never thought possible: all the constellations, all the planets, everything about the universe at large was visible, not one speck of darkness present anywhere. It all captivated him. It was as if they were beckoning for him, calling out his name so that he could join the ever-expansive blanket of light.

Okabe raised his hand out of the pool he found himself in to reach for those very same stars. What his hand met was a cold that he had only ever experienced twice: once when he was trapped in the Time Leap Machine and the other when he was in Wakui's delusion. The contrast between the sensation of comfortable warmth and metallic cold was strikingly clear, making Okabe immediately have his hand retreat back into the water.

The ripples that formed as a consequence of his movements pulsated far into the horizon that he saw in front of him until they eventually were no longer visible. Everything was quiet save for the sound of the water moving along with his own breathing.

 _Where am I?_

Everything looked so beautiful, but he couldn't help feeling on edge because of the feeling of coldness that now plagued his arm which was submerged under the water. Such beauty, locked away by the ever-expansive, cold space between it and himself.

He wondered just what was going on. One second he was celebrating Kurisu's pregnancy, the next he had to break the news of Leskinen's demise, and immediately after that, he was tortured for information on his friends by a member of the Committee of 300. Now, he found himself in such a space that could never be realistically possible. Such a pool would never be so warm nor have quite the view he saw of the universe.

"Am I dead?"

Okabe couldn't help asking aloud. His voice was clear and he didn't have any trouble working the words out of his throat like he did earlier in Wakui's presence.

"Not quite," a voice echoed all around Okabe. "But that warmth you feel is the warmth of death's embrace."

Okabe followed the sound of the gruff, familiar voice and found himself once more. His counterpart walked along the water, his feet not sinking, making a mockery of the depth that he himself was aware of. The labcoat was astral in form, rather, his entire body was astral in form. It was as if the universe grabbed whatever galaxy it could find and mashed them together into the form that was him.

The Astral Kyouma's labcoat billowed despite the absence of wind as he approached Okabe's prone body. Okabe would have sat up, but after the terrible cold that his arm was afflicted with by just raising it out of the water, he opted to remain submerged. The Astral Kyouma now stood over Okabe, peering down at him. Despite the fact that he had no facial features due to just what he seemed to be made out of, Okabe felt comfortable in his presence. The world seemed to have stopped now that he faced the Astral Kyouma. The tails of multiple galaxies spun in his form to the point that his general shape became slightly distorted each time a galaxy's tail spun past the borders that defined his body.

"I tell you such a cool phrase like: 'The rest is up to you', yet here you are on the verge of death," Kyouma said, his voice echoing within the space they found themselves in. "Are you trying to spite me?"

Okabe chuckled, "I don't think my own body would have had it any other way."

He was laughing despite the fact that his brain may have been shutting down and firing its last couple neurotransmitters before it did so. He was spending his possible last moments talking to a version of himself that he never quite understood. He didn't know if this was supposed to be the Okabe he guided to Steins Gate, or if it was just a manifestation of the guilt he felt after finding out that Leskinen was murdered.

This manifestation of himself - whether it be through voice or through body like the one that stood before him - only began appearing rather recently, but each time it did, it managed to help Okabe more than one would think it'd deter him.

"What are you supposed to be, anyway?" Okabe finally asked.

The Astral Kyouma was surprised by the question. For the longest time they had sat there looking at each other until Okabe finally broke the silence.

"You don't know who I am?" the Astral Kyouma whipped up his galaxy-coat and posed. "Has your brain been so heavily damaged that you don't remember the name Hououin-!"

"I know who you are."

Okabe felt a little bad for interrupting himself, but he really wanted to know before he possibly faded out of existence.

"I don't see the logic in this line of questioning then," the Astral Kyouma crossed his arms.

"No, not a line of questioning," Okabe corrected himself. "Just one question."

"If you know who I am, then why are you asking?"

"Are you being willfully dense?"

"Huh?"

Okabe sighed and closed his eyes, a smile still planted on his face. He was so used to being the excessively difficult one to converse with, but this change of pace wasn't too bad for his taste. He was at peace with himself and with the world around him. Any and all doubts he previously had about the world as he left it were removed from his head. Everything that transpired between his capture and his rescue was a blur, but he didn't doubt Valkyrie would make everything right - they always did somehow.

"So," Kyouma crossed his arms. "You're giving up?"

Okabe reopened his eyes to see the stars past Kyouma. "I've lived through more pain than you can ever hope to experience. I'd like to see you resist the temptation of this warmth once you go through even half the things I've been forced to endure."

Kyouma's form shifted, the galaxies within his body were becoming unfocused. Within seconds, what replaced the galaxies frightened Okabe as much as it made him even more curious about his past.

There, standing above him, was a battered man: one eye swollen shut, cuts all over his clothing, and bullet holes in his chest and legs. The labcoat transformed into a simple black overcoat, and Kyouma himself was now made of flesh and blood. His hair was a mess and his posture was less stoic than his astral form. Okabe just sat there, in the water, waiting for Kyouma to explain himself.

"I believe I've already told you about the world's unfortunate shift out of Steins Gate back in 2020," Kyouma had lost the astounding echo in his voice. "This was the state of my body before I was able to find a way back."

Kyouma turned his back toward Okabe and looked back at the sky. His overcoat didn't have the same tail-length as his labcoat, so there was no dramatic effect added to his subdued turn.

"The physical pain was one thing," he said. "But being attacked by the people I grew up calling my friends was another story in its entirety. To act alone in spite of SERN, the Committee, and the Future Gadget Lab takes a toll on one's mind that I'd never want anyone else to experience - not even a version of myself from another worldline."

"So that's how it is," Okabe was happy he finally got his answer to his first question. "My brain really is as eccentric as me, isn't it?"

"Hmm?" Kyouma turned around, confused that Okabe had not waited to let him finish his story for the ages.

"To think that you're actually the soul I guided to the Gate," Okabe chuckled. "All those memories rest only within you despite the fact that you're a part of my subconscious. I guess that explains how you know certain things that I don't.

"Ah," he chuckled softly. "It seems like I got too carried away in my holier-than-thou suffering."

He straightened up, changing his form into one that Okabe recognized so well. Himself with his labcoat, white t-shirt, and khaki pants. His hair wasn't slicked back and it seemed like his skin was less aged than Okabe's own skin. His smile was one of compassion, contrasting the one of arrogance that Okabe usually adopted when he was younger. The insane mad scientist was exhibiting the same traits that Okabe himself had exhibited many times before when he had to comfort those around him during the war - especially for people like Luka and Faris.

"Long story short," he said. "I know what it's like to be in the pain you're in. At least, physically and somewhat mentally. But your job isn't done yet."

Kyouma positioned himself right over Okabe.

"What are you doing?" Okabe asked, sensing something more menacing emanating from the figure above him.

Kyouma reached his hand down toward Okabe. Rather than the menacing aura he felt earlier, Kyouma had a warmness to him that went further than anything he'd shown. The hand, outstretched, was beckoning for Okabe to reach for it.

"Kurisu and Maho are in danger," he said. "You remember that, right?"

It took a couple moments for Okabe's memory of what happened after he escaped Wakui's delusion to come back to him. He remembered Luka saving him just before Wakui was about to plunge his sword into Okabe's body. Not only that, he remembered that Luka had said that Salieri and the Assistant were "still missing." Both served as the codenames for the girls.

"And what kind of mad scientist would I be if I didn't go out there and save them?" Okabe completed Kyouma's thought.

Kyouma nodded and smiled.

"Just a warning," he said. "The moment I begin to pull you out, the pain and cold you'll feel will be immensely terrible, but you have to go through it. The longer you spend laying in that water, the more susceptible you are from having your consciousness slip and become lost among the stars."

"You say that as if you've gone through it before," Okabe laughed.

"Only once," Kyouma chuckled as well. "But it's unforgettable."

"Then let that coldness and pain come," Okabe smirked. "I've gone through worse."

He reached out to grab Kyouma's hand, letting the piercing cold take root in his arm. The pain was tremendous, but he grit his teeth and suffered through it, grasping Kyouma's hand as tightly as he could. Kyouma, in return, began pulling Okabe out of the water. Okabe felt as if he were stuck to the surface, but little-by-little, more and more of his body was breaking free. As more of his body broke the surface, the cold assaulted him worse, but he shook the feeling of wanting to dive back into the water, trusting Kyouma's guiding hand.

Then came the memories. His ambling through each worldline flashed through his mind at once. Everything he had been forced to suffer was hitting him head-on, trying to break him mentally while the cold battered him physically. Whatever higher power that housed him in such a place was intent on keeping him there. He screamed worse at the memories that assaulted him than the cold.

Mayuri being shot right before his eyes, run over by a car, pushed into an oncoming train; Kurisu being stabbed by his hand, him holding her as she pleaded with no one in particular to save her as her life slipped away. He watched as the dreams of his friends were torn from their hands; he saw his trembling hand as he read the suicide letter of his best friend's daughter. He experienced the war that pointlessly took so many lives. He saw Luka die in his arms. He saw the time machine that housed Suzuha and Mayuri explode time and time again.

It was as if this plane of existence was warning him of the pain he'd be experiencing if he chose to leave. It pleaded with him to remain in the water, to give the suffering up. Kyouma's grip became tighter as Okabe's grip loosened. The call to the water was overcoming his senses. He just wanted to go back to the warmth.

"Make all of it right, Kyouma!" his other self yelled at him. "Make the pain worth it! Make the suffering worth it!"

Kyouma managed one last tug, breaking Okabe free from the water. "Make Steins Gate worth it!"

The cold enveloped him. He lost all sensation in himself. He lost all sight of everything around him. He was shrouded in black as he felt his consciousness being tugged in another direction.

* * *

From the darkness, there was a light. It was faint, only strong enough to give the pitch black a slight hint of gray. Everything felt slow and sluggish, not quite as freeing as the water he was previously in.

The light pulsated to a beat. It was rhythmitic, slow, weak - his heart. Once he realized just where the beat came from, he felt a twinge of pain in his chest, suddenly becoming aware of his body. He hurt all over. He was cold. His breathing was shallow: any bigger and it'd feel like he'd pop a lung, any smaller and it'd feel like he wouldn't be able to process what he could intake.

His eyes felt heavy. Any lightness that he felt while in that state of "purgatory" was totally lost on every part of his body. He let out a small groan, one that he could hardly hear despite it emanating from him. The light overcame the dark in one fell swoop. Now, behind the screen of pitch black, he'd feel like light would flood his vision if he tried opening his eyes. Slowly, surely, Okabe began stirring into consciousness once more. He opened his eyes as best he could. It was in this attempt that he realized that one of them was covered, leaving the other, very unfocused one, to do all the hard work of granting some sort of sight. Everything was blurry, but Okabe could at least make out some details of the room he was in.

There was an opening in the ceiling that allowed cold air to hit his body in the bed. Just next to his bed was the heavy medical equipment that seemed to be necessary just to allow him to perform unconscious functions like breathing and allowing blood to flow. It didn't totally replace his organs in performing these functions as he felt he had control over how to breathe, but he could tell they were doing a lot of work to make sure his organs got the proper assistance.

The room itself was just like any other hospital room he had seen. The source of light for the room came from a couple lamps set up on the walls. There was no window to the outside world, which was expected because someone in Okabe's condition definitely needed a room capable of handling his needs. The bigger the room, the less likely one would be getting a window only because it was an effort to maximize space. Everything was a stale color of white save for the flowers that were placed on the table opposite of all the machinery being used to keep him alive. They were all purple lilies that stood upright and strong, a pale opposite to Okabe's current state.

There was one more thing that broke up the monotony of the room, rather, a person. They were a couple feet away from the table with the flowers, their head leaning back against the chair they were seated in, eyes closed. If Okabe was capable of doing so, he would have let out a gasp at seeing said person. Even though his eyes were unfocused, he could very well tell just who it was that seemed to be watching over him. Despite their current non-wakefulness, they exhibited the strongest protective quality that Okabe knew was evident ever since 2010. She sat there in her long, blue dress, long-sleeved white blouse, and a pink ribbon that tied both aspects of her style together. It was a sight Okabe knew so well.

"Ma...yu...ri...?"

His voice was frail from the events that led to his hospitalization, and muffled from the mask that covered his face. However, it was just enough to get Mayuri stirring out of her sleep. She yawned, rubbing her eyes of any crust that accumulated from her seemingly long rest, before taking a good look at the hospital bed. She gasped when she saw that Okabe was facing her, awake.

"Okarin?"

Any tiredness that she would have had was immediately abandoned as she jumped out of her chair to get close to him.

"Okarin!"

If Mayuri's smile had the power to heal, Okabe would have been rejuvenated on the spot. She kneeled down next to his bed, tears in her eyes, a smile planted on her face. She held his hand with hers, showering him with the affection she was always capable of giving.

"Thank goodness you're okay," she sniffed. "I'm so glad you're awake."

All Okabe could manage was a smile.

"The... others...?" he forced out of his throat.

Mayuri straightened up from her previous position of resting her head on Okabe's hand. "Yeah, let me call them."

She pulled out her phone, another PhoneDroid. This one seemed more customized than the one that Kurisu and Okabe owned, having bright blue and green clash violently toward the middle of its back.

"Tutturu~" she singed into her phone. "Guess what? He's awake!"

She hummed an agreement to the person on the other side of the line.

"See you soon."

She put the phone back in her pocket and focused her attention back onto Okabe. She gave him one more look up and down, the smile on her face slowly breaking down the more she looked at him. Tears flowed freely once more as she planted her face right into the hand that she was still clinging to.

"You scared me so much," she sobbed. "I don't know what I would have done if you actually..."

"Hey..." Okabe called her attention. "What... kind of mad... scientist... would... I be... if... I left... my... hostage... behind?"

His voice was raspy, but he felt like Mayuri could hear him clearly. He coughed, feeling a searing hot pain erupt in his chest.

"Don't force yourself," she said. "Save your energy for when the others come around, okay?"

She flashed a tearful smile after what he had told her. Saying that brought both of them back to their childhood: before the invention of the time machine; before any of the conspiracies surrounding SERN or worldlines; before World War III; before the suffering his hubris had wrought on not only each other, but their best friends. Okabe wished the best for Mayuri on this worldline, but it seemed like he struggled to provide even that. It was as if God Himself had decided to punish him for challenging His domain. It seemed like this was the heavens' attempt to keep him from achieving the happiness he wished to bestow upon the world.

"You know," Mayuri said. "I feel really selfish right now because this is the closest we've been ever since you moved to America with Chris-chan. I shouldn't be happy right now, should I?"

"Be... selfish," Okabe was careful not to force himself too much. "It's... on...ly... hu...man..."

Okabe held out hope that Kurisu and Maho were possibly recovered by Luka while he was comatose. While the chances felt slim considering everything fate had thrown at him, it was all he could do to remain in high spirits. This was the first time he had seen Mayuri in Steins Gate and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. His hands were heavily bandaged, meaning he couldn't exactly squeeze Mayuri's hand in reassurance. The best he could do was with his words, but even that was a struggle because of how everything involved in producing said voice was injured in some way.

A beep was heard by the door. It slid open, allowing a large group to enter at once. For the briefest second, Okabe felt like he was launched back into 2010. It had been so long since he had seen everyone together all at once, but they were there: Yuki, Suzuha, Kagari, Daru, Faris, Luka, Moeka, and Nae were all present. Aside from those he considered his closest friends, he also saw people he never even recognized. He could only guess that they were the other members of Valkyrie. A pink-haired woman; two identical girls with their bluish-black hair up in ponytails, one wearing a labcoat and the other wearing a simple button-up (who also happened to be sucking on a popsicle); one man with dark hair, holding the hand of the pink-haired woman; a much older man with black hair, split by a gray patch running up the middle of his head; and a young couple, both of them with brown-hair, the girl wearing glasses while the boy's (they were adults, but they were visibly younger than the rest) eyes were strongly planted on his Pokecom in his hand.

With all these people in the room, the absence of the two he desired to see most only became more glaring. There was no stubborn girl with shoulder-length chestnut hair. There was no long-haired woman who was as tall as everyone's stomach. The pain in his chest only grew in intensity as his heart beat faster at their absence. The heart monitor picked up the spike, alerting everyone towards Okabe's ailing condition.

"Okarin!" Mayuri tried getting his attention. "Everything's okay. Look at me."

Okabe's eyes darted in Mayuri's direction.

"Breathe," she whispered. "It's okay. Just breathe."

Okabe followed Mayuri's instructions as the group behind her watched with worry. Mayuri passed her hand over his hair, petting him in an attempt to calm him down. Slowly, steadily, his heartrate stabilized.

"Okarin-san," a voice called out from behind Mayuri.

Mayuri cleared out of the way for someone else to take their place next to him. It was the woman with pink hair. Her skin seemed more wrinkled than it should for someone with such a light voice like hers. However, she still showed that motherly worry that Mayuri exhibited earlier, maybe exacerbating such a feeling by looking older than him.

"I'm so sorry for not being able to find you sooner," she apologized, rubbing the same hand that Mayuri had. "If I did my job and kept my eye on Wakui, none of this would have happened."

Okabe could only guess her position in Valkyrie based off of what she had just said. It seemed like her one and only job was to keep watch over dangerous individuals such as Wakui.

"No... one's... fault..." he breathed. "Don't... worry."

"You're just too nice to be a self-proclaimed mad scientist," she laughed a tired laugh that had a hint of regret to it. "If there's anything I can do for you, _please_ don't hesitate on letting me know. It's the least I can do for letting this happen."

Okabe slightly nodded, feeling pain course through his neck as he did so. When she got the acknowledgement she needed, the woman made way for the youngest of the bunch. Kagari and Suzuha both approached Okabe with smiles on their faces.

"We're so glad you're okay, Uncle Okarin," Suzuha said, squeezing a worried Kagari's hand.

Suzuha's voice was not as commanding as Okabe was used to in the Beta worldline. She retained that air of innocence and giddiness that she had on the Alpha worldline. Her hair mirrored her attitude, opting to go with the two classic pigtails from way back before Okabe considered reaching the age of 40. Seeing her, Mayuri, and Kagari together brought a warmth to his chest that helped fill the hole left behind by the absence of Maho and Kurisu. Operation Altair was not a waste; all of the planning and the actual rescue had led them to this moment. Only he will remember, but that was perfectly fine with him. He didn't need to be regarded as a hero.

Okabe smiled at the pair. "I'll... always... be... here..."

"We're counting on it," Suzuha winked at him before going back to the crowd.

The next people up were Faris, Luka, and Moeka together.

"Kyouma," Faris put her hands on his hand. "I feel so terrible for what happened, nya."

Faris looked exactly like she did in 2010. Okabe swore she never aged. Luka was the same as he looked in 2036 of the hellish worldline. His ponytail was clipped by his skull pin. His features were much lighter, very likely due to the fact that he didn't have to devote his life entirely to fighting like he did during World War III. He wore a simple black button down with slim-fitting red pants. Over that shirt, he wore a light leather jacket - something that was very different from how he looked when Okabe first encountered him on the worldline.

The one who seemed to have changed the most was Moeka. She seemed to exude more confidence in herself than her Alpha and Beta counterparts. Her hair was parted to the side even more than before. She no longer had any bangs, exposing her forehead. To Okabe, she had a sexy sort of confidence, but thanks to what she'd put him through and what he knew about her, that sexiness never went past her looks. She dressed conservatively, having a black suit jacket over a white top and black dress.

"I should have mobilized the Rounders as soon as news got out about Wakui," Moeka said in the most conversation-like voice Okabe's ever witnessed. "Please, forgive me for being too late."

She bowed deeply, not moving an inch from her spot. She sounded like she was sobbing. There were so many things that went wrong that led to Okabe's capture, but he couldn't blame any one of his friends for the issues he had to face. Everything started because he decided to drug Leskinen, and he was going to keep the other from shouldering the blame. Regardless, he was surprised how much of a grasp he had on people to make them cry in regret for things that weren't their fault.

"Worry... not... Shining... Finger," he smiled. "It... takes... more... than... that... to..."

Okabe started coughing, bringing the pain in his chest to the forefront. Unlike the dry cough from earlier, blood spurted right onto his mask. It felt like he could stop breathing at any moment. He held on to consciousness as best he could, but the pain was absolutely unbearable.

"Get the doctor in here!" Okabe could hear Daru order as he began fading out.

He stopped coughing, but the damage was already done. His heartrate had spiked and it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to get it down with a couple deep breaths. He felt a comfortable warmth spreading across his chest, beckoning him to sleep, but he stubbornly tried staying awake just as he did in Wakui's presence.

"Okarin!" Mayuri yelled for his name, running toward his spot. "Hang in there! I know you can do it!"

Okabe looked up at Mayuri, bruised and bloodied, and could feel himself calm down more and more. He didn't know whether that was good or bad because the calmness he attained only worsened his desire to close his eyes to the world.

He looked up. He saw a familiar sight, but it was too blurry for him to make out properly.

There. In the corner. Just between Yuki and Daru. He saw the unmistakable chestnut-colored hair. He wanted to reach out, but he was too weak to lift his arms up at all. She was right there, but she wasn't facing him. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Why wasn't she by his side?

"Ku...ri...su..." he called out toward the silhouette.

Before he could say anything else, his body had reached its breaking point. The door beeped, letting more people in that Okabe could no longer see. His vision was invaded with black, just as it was when he first woke up. His breathing slowed down, becoming more ragged and weak as time went on. He felt a presence rush to his side, touching him more than anyone else had, as if they were checking for something.

All the voices began meshing together.

"Clear the room!"

"Is he going to be okay?!"

"Please ma'am, we need you all to leave. We don't know yet."

"Okarin-san, stay with us!"

"Get out, now! One of you two, grab me the crash cart."

"Get a hold of yourself, Okabe Rintaro!"

The voice of the woman he loved was the last voice he heard. Whether it was his mind playing tricks on him or not, he was glad he got to hear Kurisu at least once before he went back into the deepest slumber he'd ever faced.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all, sorry for the wait. College has made me busy, and I'm currently dealing with some personal issues. However, I wasn't keen on leaving you guys hanging for too long. I'm happy that I was finally able to reintroduce the rest of the Future Gadget Lab in one go and they, for sure, are not gonna be relegated to just this chapter.**

 **It makes me so happy to see that many of you enjoy my writing. You guys bring out the best in me and I can't be any more appreciative for that, so thank you.**

 **Happy Late Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **~Quil**


	22. Chapter 18

**A/N: All characters within this story are owned by Chiyomaru Studio. The only character that I have sole ownership of is Kenichi Izumi.**

 **Enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 ** _Date: July 25, 2012_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)_**

 ** _Time until Overwrite: 24 years, 3 months, 22 days._**

"Worry not, miss," the man whose smile screamed of lies and deceit said. "We'd take better care of you than anyone in that little Resistance has ever bothered to do."

"But," she resisted his words. "They're not the ones with the problem. I know what you all have done - all the evils that you planned on doing. Why would I ever turn my back on my friends for a group like yours?"

She never expected to get this kind of attention from anyone. There were people more worthy of the praise she was getting; there were people who were more twisted to be receiving their praise from a man like this in particular.

If she could leave, she would have, except this was her apartment. Plus, based off the descriptions she had gotten of these people, she knew they were smarter than to just send one man to convince her to join them. She didn't want any of the attention from people like this. She would have taken praise from anyone, but these people were the most evil she'd ever encountered. They didn't even try to hide it.

"I'm risking a lot with my superiors by going to you personally," the smile lost it's faux friendliness. "The least you could do is hear me out."

He said it as if she was being ungrateful for not doing as he wanted. The small circular table that was planted in the middle of her one-room apartment only seemed to get smaller. It felt like he was going to overwhelm her with his presence despite the fact that he was lanky and older than her. He imposed so much force, but he kept himself so restrained all at the same time.

"I don't ever want you to feel forced to help us," he said. "I understand you kids and your desire to want to stick together is really strong, and I would not want to mess with that process of growing up."

Before their impromptu meeting, she was setting up tea for herself so that she could have something to stimulate her mind as she worked. Because of him, she had to get another cup of tea ready just for him. He took advantage of her politeness and sipped the tea that she placed in front of him. He crossed his legs, leaned back, and rested his arms on the back of his chair, the smile losing the sort of deceit she saw earlier.

"Why should I believe you?" she didn't believe a word he said at all.

For all she knew, he'd "leave the decision up to her," only to threaten her family and friends for her cooperation. Based off what she heard about the way these people operated, it was the only logical conclusion that could be drawn. She grabbed her cup of tea and sipped, eyeing him from over the lip of the mug.

"I could have forced you to be my slave multiple times over by now," he shrugged his shoulders. "The fact that I haven't should key you in on my willingness to work with you."

The statement itself disturbed her beyond belief. The way someone could say that with total seriousness was lost on her. She could only wonder just what he could have done to force her to do things that she wouldn't want to.

He uncrossed his legs and leaned into the table.

"It was troubling enough as it was to find any sort of connection to whatever you call that group...the Committee of Antimatter...?" he explained. "I don't want to force my way in and scare them off."

"And what makes you think I won't tell them?" she immediately challenged his statement.

"It has the same effect as me forcing you to work for us against your will," he responded coolly. "This is my hail mary shot that would get my superiors angry if it fails. However, I know you'll want to do the right thing."

He lifted his cup off the table and sipped again, watching her deliberate.

She didn't know what to do. For one, she would have slapped him, cursed him out of her apartment, and let the rest of the Anti-Committee know that this man had approached her with such a ludicrous offer. She looked at him as he nonchalantly started looking around the rest of the room, nodding at things he found interesting, and letting out strange noises of curiosity when he saw anything that stood out to him. It was so exaggerated that she saw right through it: just an attempt to get her riled up. For someone tasked with trying to get her to join his cause, he was doing the lousiest job possible.

"You know," he said, his eyes planted on the painting of Mozart behind her. "I admire your desire to stick to what you believe is right. It says volumes about who you are as a person."

He looked back at her.

"The American on the other hand," he laughed a seemingly disappointed laugh. "Just stick money in his face and he'll be your lapdog."

She tried so hard to seem uninterested in _anything_ he had to say, but the fact that he brought _him_ up was enough to make her break her facade and begin asking questions she never imagined asking.

"By the American, you mean...?"

He clarified for her and told her his name. Of course, it was the name of the person she had in mind.

"He's working for you?"

Now she was keenly interested. The act of the person who could care less about what the man had to say had crumbled within a second and her own connection to the named American was at most fault.

He smiled, having reeled her in.

"He's assisting in a limited capacity," the man said. "We figured that the intelligence agency... Stratfo I believe it was called... he's a part of would provide great support in our goals to find those who have been silently opposing us from the shadows."

His attention went back to the painting.

"After all," he said. "It's how we found your connection to the group."

Her eyes widened at how the Committee was able to pinpoint who she was. She was always sure to be careful when using her phone in regards to Anti-Committee matters. She made sure to keep such matters away from the public view and only bothered to interact with them from the safety of her own home. She decided that she needed to regain control of the conversation.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

He smiled again. "Because transparency is important in a budding partnership."

He looked at her, dragging his finger along the circumference of the cup.

"Since I am such a benevolent _God,_ here's what I'll do," he said. "You and the American can discuss this matter all you want. Just tell him that I've talked to you and he should open up about things considering he _does_ like being careful."

He wet the tip of his finger, allowing the tea to drip back into the cup from his hand.

"Of course, you can also take this matter to the Anti-Committee," he followed. "Granted, you'll be unable to properly identify me, but the sentiment still exists and I'll be able to know if you do decide to take this course of action. But, there's one thing I cannot allow you to do."

He hooked his finger upward, making the table that separated them rise along with their cups of tea. The space between them was empty, allowing him to stand and cast his figure over her.

"If the public knows anything at all about what took place between us here," he said, his demeanor becoming more menacing. "If you so much as blab a word to anyone not involved in your struggle against us."

A giant sword appeared out of thin air right in front of her face. She wanted to flinch and back away, but she was stuck to her spot as if some invisible force was keeping her there. The sword he brandished was a terrifying sight to behold, making her whimper in fear just by looking at it. It seemed like merely landing her gaze upon it would have fatal implications for her body. It already seemed to give her a terrible headache.

"I will not hesitate on using our influence to bankrupt your university and destroy your place in society," he finally warned. "Pulling the commonfolk into a matter as complex as ours is despicable, don't you agree?"

She looked at him in fear. Within moments, the sword had disappeared. In fact, everything seemed to go back to normal. The table was not floating into the air, and they were both seated in the exact same position they were in moments prior.

 _Was that just a hallucination?_

"Don't you agree, Hiyajo-san?" what he said seemed to follow exactly what Maho had experienced in that altered state.

"...Agree to what?"

He laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. The sword being in your face probably distracted you, didn't it?"

What he said confirmed her doubts. He had controlled her mind to come up with such a vivid delusion. She didn't know whether she should have felt relieved that such a terrifying experience only happened in their minds, or scared at the fact that they could share an experience like that in the first place.

"No," Maho cut him off before he said another word. "...I agree. I don't think anyone who's not volunteered themselves in this matter should be burdened with this knowledge..."

He flashed his teeth, happy about the understanding between them.

"Now, before I go, I believe I haven't told you how you'd be assisting the Committee quite yet," he said. "It's quite simple actually. There's a little thing called Gigalomania. It's how humans like us can ascend to god-status. It is a very dangerous thing to be handled by 'scientists' or 'experts'. When used for wrongdoing, things like the Shibuya Earthquake in 2009 occur, you see?"

Maho nodded.

"That kind of ability is _very_ dangerous and, if I say so myself, should not be reproduced artificially in the slightest. If you hear mention of your group trying to study Gigalomania, all you have to do is impede on the research as best you can. You don't have to report to me, or the Committee, or anyone. This is a matter of trust between us."

This was where he seemed most serious. As if he very honestly believed that he was ridding the world of a very serious danger if he stopped such research.

"Who knows," he shrugged. "Perhaps, when you realize just how dangerous your little group is, you'll finally see why the Committee is needed to shepherd the sheep into the New World and you could join our ranks."

The way he wove his words distracted Maho from the disgust she originally had for him. However, once she realized just how uncharacteristically charismatic he was being, she drove to shut down any more conversation.

"...I'll consider your offer," she said. "I have to do more research on this Gigalomania matter, but if it's as dangerous as you say... then I'll see what I'll do about it when the time comes."

"That's good," he jumped to his feet. "I'm very sorry for scaring you like that earlier. I just tend to get a little heated when it comes to innocent people not deserving the suffering they'd hypothetically be put through."

He began making his way out the door. "Of course, I would never lay a finger on you. After all, I'm a gentleman first and foremost."

"W-Wait!" Maho called the man back before he stepped out of the already opened door. "How do I tell the Professor that you've contacted me?"

"Well, that should be easy for a scientist like you," he paused with a smile on his face, as if he were expecting laugther from her end. "Tch. Liven up a little, won't you?"

He sighed. He was having more fun with controlling Maho than anything and Maho hated herself for allowing the situation to come down to this. However, her curiosity and desire to gain insight into the Committee pulled her in many different directions.

"He hasn't told you about Stratfo, right?"

Maho shook her head.

"Then bring it up to him if you want to talk to him about Committee matters," he explained. "If he asks how you know about that little thinktank, just tell him a man with a big sword who has ties to the Committee told you about it. He'll be bound to believe you considering I'm the one who instructed him to find you in the first place."

There was so much information for her to process that she wasn't sure if she was hearing everything properly. What did he mean by big sword? Did he mean that giant thing that she saw in her delusion?

"Now," he sounded exasperated. "Are we done here? I have a school who's construction I need to tend to in Shibuya and I'm afraid I've already used up a lot of my free time to seek you out here in America."

Maho slowly nodded. She didn't understand anything, but she knew that she wanted the man gone before she began pondering over anything.

"Good," he bowed to her before making his leave. "I wish you luck in your future endeavors, and I hope you consider this proposition between us."

* * *

Okabe slowly opened his eyes. This time around, there was no extreme pain, and the only parts of his body that now felt sore were his chest and throat. He still felt the weight of the oxygen mask on his face, but this time he felt like he could actually breathe easier without it. The room around him was dark, the lightbar that was present when he first awoke having been extinguished. He could make out the shapes of the different objects of the room with better clarity, but it seemed like his left eye was still covered just like before. He sat up slowly, testing out just how rejuvenated he truly was. The pain in his chest remained, but he felt like he had better control over his body. It was as if the torture that Wakui put him through was just a dream. The only remnants of that nightmare were stuck in his chest and throat, very likely from what had occurred the first time he woke up.

He reached his hands out in front of him. His arms felt heavy, but they weren't painfully so. He felt a little resistance as wires tugged from both his forearms back toward the wall behind him. It was the first time he had been aware of anything being wired to him aside from the oxygen mask he wore. The wiring was connected to his forearms, his chest, his thighs, and his shoulders. They seemed to be syringes of some sort as, when he moved his forearm, he felt something move beneath his skin along with it. He looked at his hands which were now both unbandaged. They were black and purple, but to his surprise, all of his nails on his right hand seemed to be healing. He carefully slid his left index finger along his right middle finger. His hand was tender to the touch, as expected. What was unexpected to him was encountering the smooth hardness of a nail growing once more. Wakui had torn off many nails from his hands and feet, making Okabe wonder what would happen to their regeneration if he was able to escape. The fact that his nails survived, mostly unscathed, was a novelty to him.

Unbeknownst to him, the movements he made tripped the hospital's systems, alerting the staff to the fact that he had woken up. He heard a beep to his left just before the door slid open. A pair of nurses, garbed in white blouses with red stripes going down their chest from their shoulders, made their way in. The lights turned on as they entered. Their demeanor was calm as they both looked at a clipboard that the black-haired nurse held in her hand. This demeanor they held changed once the brunette nurse's eye landed on the awake Okabe. What was thought to be an unconscious squirm was actually him being awake.

"Call the doctor," the black-haired nurse said in Japanese. "Tell him that the patient's awake."

The brunette nodded before quickly walking out of the room. The other nurse had taken off her glasses as she approached Okabe, inspecting every little detail about his body. She looked at him as if he shouldn't be alive; as if the very fabric of reality had twisted before her and she was trying to confirm whether she was dreaming or not. Of course, such a reaction would not concern Okabe, but considering the circumstances, he couldn't help but wonder that his consciousness was something that didn't have a high chance of reoccurring at that point.

"How do you feel, Okabe-san?" she asked.

"I feel a lot better than last time," he said with a hoarse voice. "I can actually speak now."

His throat was sore, but it wasn't painful. As a matter of fact, everything that was in pain when he fell unconscious was now just a slightly uncomfortable soreness.

"That's good," she said, now at his bedside. "The doctor will be here soon to check everything."

She got on the computer which was hanging just across from his bed. She put her glasses back on as she began typing away at the keyboard.

"First," she said without looking away from the computer. "I'll get you prepped by jotting down your vitals at consciousness."

Standing at her spot, she took off her glasses and looked at the monitor that was displaying Okabe's vitals. She nodded to herself, and began filling out whatever form she had on the screen.

"Where am I?" he asked.

The fact that the nurses spoke Japanese and looked Japanese from a distance made Okabe wonder whether or not he was even in America anymore. The nurse stopped what she was doing and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're in the hospital, sir," she said. "Are you having any lapses in memory?"

"I don't mean that," he responded. "What country is this?"

"Perhaps that car accident did more damage to your head than we previously thought."

The nurse walked away from her spot at the computer and toward the very confused Okabe. Everything she was saying was all sorts of wrong and he could only wonder whether he was actually himself or not. The last time he checked, being relentlessly tortured by a madman with a giant sword was not anywhere close to a car accident like the nurse was describing. She dimmed the lights with the help of something on her wrist as she approached him.

Once she got to his bedside, she took a flashlight out of her breast pocket and waved it in front of his eye, testing the reactivity of his pupil. He felt a tinge of pain on his optic nerve from just how bright the light was and he would have squinted to block the light had the nurse not held his eyelid open.

"Your eyes are responding just fine," she said as she pocketed the flashlight. "No lasting nerve damage at least."

She held her wrist-gadget up to her face and turned the lights back on to full.

Before she could get any further, another beep was heard at the door. The nurse from earlier walked in, trailed by a doctor who looked younger than Okabe, but held the oldest eyes. Despite the lifetime that Okabe's lived, those pale blue eyes he saw held more wisdom than he could ever hope for. His brown hair was slicked back, only allowing a single strand to fall between his eyes. Even though it looked like something that could be done to attract co-workers, the aura he emitted seemingly contradicted such a belief by saying something like "I have neither the time nor the need to submit myself to petulant games." His doctor's coat fit snugly around his body and seemed to be weighed down by just how many pens and pen-like things he had in his breast pocket.

He exchanged a few words with the nurse that presided over him, mostly talking about the nurse's "new findings" in regards to Okabe's situation. He nodded, taking careful note over what she said as he wrote into his Pokecom about whatever she said. After a brief minute, he dismissed both nurses and shut the door behind them. With a single swipe of his Pokecom, the door's locking mechanism clicked into place with a deeper pitched beep signaling that it was successful. He pulled a visitor's chair away from the table that had all the flowers he had been given and placed himself right next to Okabe.

"Hello, Okarin," he said. "My name is Dr. Izumi Kenichi."

The eyes he had were kind, but withered. His smile was tired. It seemed like he had been dealing with things like this for about as long as Okabe was forced to deal with the Beta Worldline. The fact that the doctor called Okabe by his nickname meant that they were in some way close, but Okabe didn't know who he was.

"My codename under Valkyrie is Apollo," he said. "So, knowing that, you needn't worry about any sort of misunderstanding as to why you were placed here."

Apollo, as explained by Daru, was the Chief Surgeon in Valkyrie. There was an event in 2016 that brought Okabe into a leading role in the Anti-Committee before its merger with the Rounders and Mr. Toshiyuki Sawada's group in the 2020s. As a consequence of this event - of which every leading member of Valkyrie except for Okabe has knowledge of - Faris brought Apollo onto the team thanks to her connections with almost every industry imaginable in Japan. Thanks to his importance, Apollo sat among Daru, Kurisu, Okabe, Faris, Moeka, Nishijou Takumi, Sakihata Rimi, Aoi Sena, Kunosato Mio, and Toshiyuki Sawada as one of the only members within Valkyrie with top-level clearance into everything they were doing. Naturally, this meant that he also knew of Okabe's Reading Steiner situation as soon as Daru got wind of it.

Izumi Kenichi himself did not look like the outstanding man that Apollo was to Valkyrie. He was the bastard child of a Japanese mother and a European father who had left their family well before he was born. To his displeasure, against all odds, he inherited his father's blue eyes. However, that did not deter him from working hard in order to help support himself and his mother as they lived out a very spartan life in Tokyo. Standing at just three years older than Okabe, he was finishing his postgraduate work in medicine at Showa University's School of Medicine when Okabe first began pursuing Quantum Brain Science in America at Victor Chondria's Institute of Neuroscience. Given the fact that he was a surgeon, he had seen the most grizzly sights that no one person should have to see, but he continued because he enjoyed helping people. Apparently, it was this trait that Faris honed in on in order to get him onto Valkyrie in its early days as the Commitee of Antimatter. It was in his induction, apparently, that Okabe and Izumi first met and became fast friends.

"As you can imagine," he continued. "Knowledge of what actually happened to you needs to be kept within the tightest of circles or else the Committee might get a bead on where we may reside. I think you want to take a break from all that running and being careful, don't you?"

"Of course," Okabe picked up the conversation in stride. "I place my fate in your hands, Izumi-sensei."

Izumi chuckled.

"Perhaps your brain did suffer some damage there," he said as he began taking off Okabe's oxygen mask. "The lack of delusional nicknaming is certainly a sight to behold coming from a man like yourself, Okarin."

Okabe didn't feel much of a change in his breath once the oxygen mask was removed from his face. Whatever they gave him must have done a number on his body because he definitely felt a lot better than the last time he woke up.

"I don't know whether I should be honored or offended at hearing that, Sensei," Okabe responded without any muffle in his voice. "I'm just barely getting back into the swing of things."

"Well, for starters, calling me Miken is fine. Despite the fact that this is _your_ first time meeting me, I've been friends with you for 20 years now."

"Miken sounds like a name Mayuri would come up with."

"Who do you think bestowed such a nickname upon me?"

"I doubt that I stuck to that naming scheme for you."

"Naturally."

"Understood," Okabe said. "I shall dub thee Magic Eye."

Both men laughed once Okabe uttered the name. It seemed like this was the first time Okabe could ever actually laugh freely on the worldline ever since he arrived. As for Izumi, it also seemed like he suffered the same drought of happiness that had been wrought on Okabe.

"It pains me to see that you haven't changed one bit, my friend," Izumi smiled.

"It pains me to not know you quite as well as you know me, Magic Eye," Okabe responded. "We should make up for lost time when all this is over."

Now that he had his bearings under control once more, Okabe did not feel quite as helpless about Kurisu and Maho as he did when he first woke up. Even though it pained his heart that both girls that he considered special to him were taken under his watch, he knew that his will to succeed and save both of them could only ever be matched by the force of a thousand suns. Wakui had awoken a special kind of obsession in him that had lain dormant ever since he arrived on Steins Gate. The obsession to save Kurisu was back on the forefront of Okabe's mind and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him from letting her live the life that she should live.

"As leader of Valkyrie I think you're gonna need an update on the situation," Izumi said without acknowledging the possibility of rekindling their friendship. "You've been out for quite a long time, my friend."

"How long have I been out for?"

"A month and a half."

Okabe was about to speak up again about how incredulous he was, but Izumi put up a finger to stop him from speaking any further.

"Please let me finish filling you in before you strain yourself any further."

Okabe was about to protest, but thought better of it. He calmed down a little, evident by the beeping from his heart monitor decreasing from the intense rate it was at when he realized just how long he was out for.

"First off, in regards to you."

Izumi leaned in.

"Thanks to Shuichi-san's shallow torture techniques, you've been able to _mostly_ recover all the damage he had done to you. Unfortunately, your left eye did not share the same fate as the rest of your vital organs. It's still there - don't worry about that, but the damage done to it will forever need corrective lenses just to be able to see clearly out of it.

The nail matrices on your right hand were heavily compromised, but with time your nails will be back to how they were before their unfortunate removal. Thankfully, with the help of our "Magic Medicine" that you see being injected into every major muscle group in your body, we were able to help your body recover from the broken bones it suffered close to two times faster. You really would have put us in a bind if you did any more damage to yourself when you first woke up last month, but thankfully you didn't.

Your right lung was collapsed, but with a quick surgery, we were able to get it back into working order. Sadly, because of this collapse, you'll be prone to more accidental ones in your future, so please don't exert yourself so hard. While a collapsed lung may not be so painful at first, I know you understand the long-term implications of allowing it to happen often.

Lastly, your story from here on out is that you got into a really bad car accident on the Togane Highway. It was not your fault, as the wildlife seemed to do everything in its power to kill you. Valkyrie went to lengths to get it all set up to make your story match real life, so it's best that you stick to it. We're currently in the Chiba Medical Center, so that's why you hear all this Japanese around you. Got it?"

Okabe nodded.

"In other news, I know you'll be glad to hear that we were able to find Hiyajo-san last week."

Okabe's ears perked up. He was about to speak up before he remembered the request that Izumi made to him.

"Unlike you, whom we found tied up in a shipping container deep in the forest of Kyushu, she was found in a hidden basement at Tokyo Denki University."

Tokyo Denki was his old school. However, he had no recollection whatsoever about any sort of hidden basement beneath it. The only thing he could think of was the time that Leskinen had disappeared into the hallway of the university all that time ago in Beta. Such an odd encounter was ingrained into Okabe's hippocampus so he had no way of forgetting it. If such a concept existed even outside of Beta, then Okabe could only wonder what else from that hellish worldline was able to survive the reconstruction onto Steins Gate.

"She's totally healthy," Izumi said. "It seems like they didn't put her through much at all. The only reason why we were really able to find her was because of a tip we got from Suzuha-chan."

Okabe was scared to hear that Suzuha was doing things for Valkyrie. That girl had fought all her life in both Alpha and Beta and all he wished for was for her to live as normal a life as her humble heart could.

"Apparently, she saw Hiyajo-san walking down the hallway across from her. However, when she went to investigate, there was seemingly no trace of Hiyajo-san whatsoever."

The similarities between what Okabe saw with Leskinen and what Suzuha saw with Maho were uncanny. He could only imagine how scared Maho was after being kidnapped and being forced to remain within the university for as long as she did. He could only be thankful that Suzuha's innocent observation was able to save her from suffering a fate that was a tenth as bad as what he was forced to go through.

"The basement itself was swarming with Stratfo soldiers. If that nickname sounds familiar, that's the name of the -"

"I know who they are," Okabe cut Izumi off before he continued. "They and I had quite a couple run-ins in the Beta Worldline."

"Okay," Izumi said. "I'll continue then."

"They were quick to surrender to the Rounders under Moeka-chan's command. We cleared out everything and it seems like they forced her to try and figure out the identities of all the leading members of Valkyrie. The good thing is that she doesn't know any of our true roles within the Anti-Committee, so she couldn't reveal our identities even if she wanted to."

The line of logic was hard for Okabe to follow. Sure, his Steins Gate counterpart may not have been quite as close to Maho as _he_ had been, but she was still a trustworthy person to entrust the deepest secrets of Valkyrie to. He was grateful that she wasn't, but he couldn't help feeling a little pained that Maho was unable to get the recognition she deserved for guiding the universe to this worldline with her contributions to time travel.

It also begged the question as to how Wakui was able to discern her identity quite so easily. Nishijou Takumi as Neidhardt was a given thanks to the very public thorn he'd been in the Committee's side since 2009, meaning his real name wasn't exactly secret. However, he was sure that Maho wasn't subject to anything quite as public as Takumi, so her identity should have been safe.

"There's one last thing, Okarin," Izumi brought Okabe out of his bubble.

His eyes seemed to be even sadder than before. Those eyes Okabe saw almost made him want to break down into tears.

"We haven't been able to find Kurisu. A couple days after your tracker went off, hers showed up deep in Yakushima Island, but we didn't find her. Somehow they found out about the tracker that she had, removed it from her body, and relocated somewhere else. We've been hard at work trying to find any sort of trail we could follow to find her, but our efforts have led us to many dead ends over the past month and a half. We've gone so far as to question Shuichi-san, but naturally he's being uncooperative."

Izumi's expression was gloomy. It was as if he was filled with regret for not being able to find Kurisu. However, this news didn't seem to surprise Okabe, nor did it do anything to hinder his obsession.

No. News like this invigorated him. Knowing that Kurisu and his unborn child were out there, being held captive by cowards angered him.

A fire was lit deep inside him; a fire that had been quelled after he prematurely believed he had made it to the promised land. He could feel the soreness within his body become engulfed by the flames that devoured his very being.

"Kenichi," he called Izumi out by his real name which caught him by surprise.

"What is it?"

"By your standards, I should be good to go now, right?"

"Well," Izumi started. "The fact that you've woken up like this means that your body is fully recovered. As a medical professional, I'd recommend another day of rest, but knowing you, you'd ignore it."

Hououin Kyouma could feel his shackles melting. The shackles that oppressed him for months on end in Beta. The shackles that tried to bring him down in the wartorn worldline. The shackles that were slowly tightening their hold on him as he let his guard down. Hououin Kyouma was not going to allow those shackles to oppress him any longer.

"My Favorite Left Eye of Horus," Kyouma called out to Izumi who was caught off guard yet again.

"Y-Yes?"

Hououin Kyouma was no longer just an act. The mad scientist had finally found his footing after 26 years of _thinking_ he had risen from his slumber.

"Why don't we pay that fool, Wakui a visit?"

After 26 years of opression, Hououin Kyouma had finally been freed. The Phoenix had risen from the ashes of war with a wicked smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the looooong wait on this one. I swear I meant to be done with this story by the end of 2018, but it seems like life had other plans for me so I'm sorry for that. I hope this is a good enough treat for you guys to chew on for making y'all wait for so long. I'm also slightly happy that I could finally implement Apollo in the story. He had been a character in the works ever since Chapter 12, but I couldn't find a good place to fit him in until now. But yeah, the endgame is on the horizon. Not many chapters between here and the end. I hope you all are prepared for the ride from here on out because I'm not pulling anymore punches.**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **~Quil**


	23. Chapter 19

**_Date: July 26, 2012_**

 ** _Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)_**

 ** _Time until Overwrite: 24 years, 3 months, 21 days._**

Maho was sat, working at her desk in Victor Chondria's Institute of Neuroscience, with a cold sweat down her back. It had been a day since the man with the sword confronted her in her apartment and she couldn't help feeling wary of everyone around her. However, she knew deep down that the person who put her in such a tough position in the first place was standing just a couple paces away. She watched him in her peripheral as he happily, yet authoritatively chatted away with her colleagues about the potential revival of the Amadeus project.

"So you're saying there's a chance that we can pick up where we unfortunately left off?" he asked.

"Well," the man in front of him said. "It'll be slow, but I'm sure that, if Ms. Makise and Ms. Hiyajo were willing to head the project again, we could make up for the years of progress we lost by the end of the year."

Remembering what had happened to Amadeus hurt Maho in more ways than she could have ever possibly imagined. In the Spring of 2010, the servers in Victor Chondria underwent a stealthy cyber attack. For some reason, nothing of note seemed to have been touched by the attack, but to her dismay, Amadeus and all the progress they made with the project was nowhere to be found. Whoever attacked them willingly ignored everything within the servers, aiming to directly take down Amadeus for whatever reason. The project wasn't even made public, so no one should have known about it, but that didn't stop wheover attacked them.

Maho and, to a lesser extent, Kurisu mourned on the morning they found out that Amadeus and everything related to the project had been forcefully taken from them. Maho felt like her child that she nurtured had been ripped out of her hands. It got to the point that Professor Leskinen had to remove Maho from the team for a couple months so that she could stabilize herself emotionally. However, he never asked the same of Kurisu. For the first couple days, she resented Kurisu for not taking the sudden death of the project as seriously as her, but she learned to control her emotions and took every step she could to rekindle that friendship she had nurtured with her stubborn junior over the course of their time working with Amadeus.

She felt the gaze of the men who were standing and talking with the Professor land on her. For the first time in her life she could only wish that she was smaller so that she could hide from them, but to no avail.

"I'll ask her," she overheard the Professor say. "Thanks for the update."

He dismissed her colleagues and focused his attention on her.

"Maho. Can you come over here for a second?"

She flinched at hearing her name being called. She swore at herself for not masking her fear of the Professor better than she had at that point, but she held out hope that he was unaware of the man's visit with her. Maho knew that the Professor was well-aware that he had exposed her position within the Committee of Antimatter, so there was absolutely no way to get around it.

She got up and out of her desk to go face the Professor for the first time since she discovered his secret life as a member of the intelligence group, Stratfo. He smiled warmly, but she didn't know whether she should have believed the smile or not. Everyone around the Institute came under strict scrutiny by her. She didn't know how many others had a side occupation like Professor Leskinen.

"I could tell you were listening pretty intently to the conversation we were having there about Amadeus," he said. "Does this mean that you're interested in taking the lead in the project again?"

"Y-Yeah..." Maho wanted to control her emotions but it was obvious that she couldn't hide her distrustful fear of Leskinen.

Leskinen took note of it and the smile gave way to a frown of concern.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she tried smiling but very likely failed to achieve even that.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I almost forgot how much Amadeus meant to you. You don't have to lead the project if you feel like it'd take too much of a mental toll on you."

He had to have known what he had done. There's no way he's so capable of putting aside the fact that he outed her to the Committee and talk about projects, even if that project is something important like Amadeus.

"Professor," she finally swallowed her fear. "Do you think we can talk in your office?"

"Sure," he said. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

They walked in silence toward his office. Leskinen seemed slightly worried about Maho's well-being, oblivious to what she knew about him.

"So, what's up?" Leskinen guided Maho into his office, closed the door and took a seat at his desk - motioning her to take a seat as well.

"Professor..." Maho remained standing. "...I..."

She kept having a hard time trying to put her words together. It shouldn't have been harder than it seemed, but Maho's mind and her mouth were working on totally opposite polarities.

"Maho," Leskinen interrupted her before she bumbled further. "It's okay if you don't want to be a part of the Amadeus project. I can barely fathom just how much it hurt when the project went missing two years ago, but you don't have to force yourself-"

"It's not that, Professor!" Maho accidentally snapped at him, startling both herself and the Professor. "...Sorry."

Leskinen eased up slightly at Maho's apology.

"What's wrong, Maho?"

Maho felt so confused, scared, angry, and betrayed. Every negative emotion she carried within her had piled on, one after the other, until the point that she had broken down into tears. She felt like such a kid for crying without even explaining herself, but being pulled headlong into a conspiracy such as this took a toll on her psyche much worse than the deletion of Amadeus ever had.

"Maho?!"

Leskinen jumped out of his chair to reach out and console his crying assistant, but she cowered away from him.

"I know about Stratfo!"

Leskinen froze in his tracks when Maho was finally able to piece a sentence together. He dropped his hand limply to his side - his mouth wide. His reaction was not what she expected whatsoever out of him. He wasn't angry, nor was he smug. He just had a look of deep sadness that she couldn't quite understand.

"I'm so sorry," he dropped his head in seeming shame. "I didn't want this for you, my little Einstein."

"Then why?!"

Maho let her emotions run rampant. She wanted to calm herself down, but seeing the person who betrayed her to _that_ man made it all-the-more difficult for her to control herself.

"How much did that man tell you?" Leskinen ignored her screaming and kept a leveled tone to speak to her.

"...What?" Maho sniffled.

Leskinen's response caught her so off guard that she had to stop her incoherent crying just to understand where he was coming from.

He offered her his handkerchief, which she took with caution. She didn't know whether she should trust him anymore, but so far he hadn't given her any reason to doubt him whatsoever.

"I know this feels like a lot, but I'm begging you to hear me out," he said as he motioned for Maho to sit once more.

Finally budging, Maho chose to accept his offer and sat down in the seat in front of his desk. Leskinen followed suit and sat behind his desk once more, eager to try and explain himself to her.

"I imagine he told you that Stratfo was hired to do some digging into that Anti-Committee of yours, right?" Leskinen asked.

Maho nodded silently, still wiping her tears on the handkerchief that Leskinen offered.

"That man - the one with the big sword - he was there when I was able to find communications attached to your codename," Leskinen seemed apologetic as he spoke. "I... I tried my damndest to lie my way out of having to reveal you, but..."

Maho was staring intently at Leskinen as he spoke. He looked like he was about to break into tears, as if he sold one of his children off to someone to repay a debt. Not once did he look her in the eye - very likely out of shame for what he had done.

"He knew that I recognized your codename," he said. "And he said he would kill you if he was forced to figure out who was behind 'Salieri' by himself."

For the first time since he started telling her about what occurred between himself and that man with the giant sword, Leskinen looked at her. He seemed to have finally regained his footing after being taken aback by Maho's outburst.

"Maho, I'd let myself be tortured and killed before I would allow for anyone to lay a finger on you. I'm so sorry that this happened to begin with, but we both have to adapt to the situation at hand."

She was confused. From what it sounded like, the Professor was placing the blame on Maho for not being able to adapt to a man threatening her life with a giant sword to her face. He made it sound like his outing of her as a member of the Anti-Committee was her fault as much as his in order to rid himself of some of the blame he deserved!

"Professor-" Maho was about to interject, but Leskinen cut her off by raising his hand.

"Listen," he said. "I'm not going to question why in God's name you're participating in something so dangerous, nor am I going to try to get any more information out of you."

His face was all business. From one second he was disappointed in himself, the next he was scolding her, and now he's seemingly trying to get her to listen to him for how to proceed.

"Our fates are linked now, Maho. We have to rely on each other in order to get through this _together_."

His proposition made her even more confused. What more could she offer to him when Stratfo basically had all the bases covered in terms of gathering information? If he wasn't going to ask for any more information out of her, then what was the point of keeping her around?

"...What do you mean?" she voiced all her concerns in that one sentence.

"I've been in this business for longer than I'd like," he admitted. "I can tell the schemers from the idealists."

She was wondering how that had any bearing to what they were currently dealing with.

"That man," Leskinen continued. "I'm sure he gave you some sort of deal under the guise of being an idealist interested in serving the world, but he's the worst person I've come across in my 40 years of living."

Maho thought back on the deal that the man had given her. All he had asked for was to stop the research of "Gigalomania" in exchange for nothing more than to just not let anyone else other than Leskinen know that she had been contacted by the Committee.

"I'm sure he offered you a deal that seems like it's totally in your favor, right?"

Leskinen had predicted what the man had told her as if he was reading Maho's mind. Maho nodded in response.

"What was it?"

"That, if I wanted to, I do my best to stop any research related to something called 'Gigalomania,'" she said. "He said that I didn't have to follow through with it, but that stopping this research would enlighten me in some way."

Leskinen leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin.

"What does he have to gain by letting you choose your own fate?" Leskinen pondered as if he was thinking of what he would do in that man's shoes.

"A partner," Maho quoted the man, making her feel slightly sick.

"Yes," Leskinen nodded. "A mole within the Anti-Committee to destroy it from the inside."

He took a deep breath before speaking again. It seemed like he was trying to be careful with his words.

"I'll tell you what," he said. "I hear Doctor Coleman from the Coleman Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience is looking into experimenting with what you've been asked to stop. Additionally, Kurisu's protegee - that girl Mio - seems to be helping her out."

Leskinen pulled out his desk drawer to look through his files.

"Granted, the whole thing is so classified that not even I - the director of Victor Chondria's Institute of Neuroscience - know the details of it."

He pulled out a folder and handed it to Maho. She opened it to reveal all the information he had on Dr. Coleman's research as well as her personal contact information. She looked up at him, awaiting some more explaining.

"This should give you a headstart and give you an idea of what you're dealing with," he said. "Just tell me and I can give Doctor Coleman a call so that I can butter her up and allow you to view this research for yourself."

Maho nodded along with what he was saying. Her final remaining concern was why the Professor was so willing to stick his neck out for someone like her, a low-level Anti-Committee member who was stupid enough to get caught.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" she asked as she closed the folder.

"I dragged you deeper into this mess," Leskinen was totally serious. "The least I can do is make it easier to survive in the hole I dug for you."

Leskinen kicked his desk drawer shut, slightly startling Maho.

"I only hope that I can rely on you if I ever need help," Leskinen said, revealing the slightly methodical side to him that he always hid beneath his youthful exuberance.

"I'll do what I can, Professor," she said. "But I don't think I'll be much help if that time ever comes."

Leskinen laughed as if Maho told him a joke.

"I see a lot of potential in you Maho," he smiled. "I know you won't let me down _when_ that time comes."

Maho felt a weight disappear from her shoulders - she now had a debt she felt she had to pay back to the Professor in some way for what he had done. Now that she was calm, she realized that he wasn't at fault whatsoever for her discovery as a member of the Anti-Committee. Everything leading up to that point was her fault because she didn't do enough to mask her trail.

"...Thank you... Professor..."

She couldn't feel any more grateful that she had someone like the Professor on her side. Despite the fact that he outed her, he was doing everything in his power to correct that wrongdoing, so it was only right that she tried her best on her front.

"Don't thank me," he said. "All I've done is get you started. Everything else is up to you."

Maho smiled and ran to hug him. She felt tears streaming down her eyes, except this time they were streams of gratitude for her mentor.

"Ah!" he yelled in surprise as the girl who was half his size enveloped him in her embrace. "Use the handkerchief, Maho! You'll ruin the suit!"

Maho pulled away after a couple seconds and wiped her tears and snot on the handkerchief. She knew she couldn't give it back to him at that point because of how many of her germs were on it, and she was happy that the Professor was willing to give up his favorite piece of cloth to her.

He smiled down at her as she did so.

Just before they were both about to step outside, a knock was heard at the door. Maho was slightly panicked because of all the sensitive information she spilled to the Professor, but that worry quickly subsided when she remembered that the Professor's office was soundproofed and had black-tinted windows to keep anyone from spying on them from the outside.

"You all good now?" Leskinen asked.

Maho nodded, allowing Leskinen to open the door in front of her. However, before she could step out, she paused in surprise.

Standing at the door in front of her was none other than her junior, Makise Kurisu. However, just behind her, was a tall Japanese man that she had never seen before. The aura he exuded was one of arrogance. He wore a labcoat with all the buttons unbuttoned; beneath that labcoat was a plain white t-shirt and khaki pants that were loosely kept around his waist by one of those cheap D-ring belts that one could buy at a swap meet. If he were to remind her of someone, it would be that man with the giant sword who had approached her the day before. Such a thought produced suspicion of him that she knew was irrational, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh!" Kurisu said in surprise. "I didn't expect you in here too, Senpai."

She spoke in English, as it naturally happened around Leskinen or any other American that was in the conversation.

Maho was about to speak, but the Professor didn't give her the chance.

"Maho and I were just talking about something important that I need to fill you in on later."

Kurisu's interest was piqued, but she shook it off because it was apparent that the man behind her was more important. She motioned, with an annoyed look on her face, for him to get closer so that both the Professor and Maho could get a look. Once he got in the room, Kurisu shut the doors.

"And who might this be?" he asked. "Don't tell me, is he your boyfriend?"

Maho swallowed her spit too quickly and coughed at the thought of that man being the person that Kurisu was willing to build a relationship with. Everything about him screamed "Get away!"

Kurisu blushed, but she never denied Leskinen's assertion. Given that the man didn't exhibit the same reaction, Maho could only assume that he didn't speak English, so he never understood Leskinen's question. Such a sight produced a hearty laugh of pure enjoyment out of the Professor, but Maho could only get more uncomfortable. Was Kurisu actually the type of girl to flaunt her boyfriend to others?

"You told me a while back that you were interested in meeting the person who saved my life when I went to Japan two years ago," she looked at the ground, embarrassed. "He is that person."

"Oh?" Leskinen was interested.

Maho couldn't deny being interested either. The way this man dressed was the exact opposite of the action that Kurisu claimed he had done.

"Professor Leskinen," Kurisu switched up to Japanese to bring the man into the conversation. "This is Okabe Rintaro, a university student at Tokyo Denki University."

"Tokyo Denki, huh?" Leskinen switched to Japanese as well, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "That's a pretty prestigious engineering school."

That comment seemed to bolster whatever arrogant attitude the man had. He stepped in front of Kurisu, putting himself right in front of Maho and the Professor.

"Oka-"

"I'd like to apologize for my Assistant interrupting your meeting with your long-lost little girl, Meestah Leskinen," the way he spoke was way too over-the-top. "I would also like to apologize for the incorrect introduction."

...Was he actually serious? Whatever comparison Maho drew between this "Okabe" person and the man with the sword immediately flew out the window once those words burst out of his mouth. Maho could see Leskinen smiling out of the corner of her eye, no-doubt entertained by this person's rude antics.

"I am the seeker of chaos, the destroyer of this world's ruling structure," Okabe started making flashy gestures that angered Kurisu more and more. "I am the insane mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma!"

He flipped up his labcoat for dramatic effect.

 _Got it,_ Maho thought. _He's delusional_.

"Okabe!" Kurisu yelled at him. "Why do you always have to do things like this - why can't you be normal for one second!?"

"Mad scientist, huh?" Leskinen seemed to be playing along, smiling the entire time.

"You're playing along?!" both Maho and Kurisu shouted in surprise at the Professor.

The differences between the man she had seen minutes before Kurisu came in and now were way too drastic. Maho wouldn't be faulted for believing that the Professor had something like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde complex.

"Well, Mr. Mad Scientist," Leskinen said, ignoring both of his assistants. "You have my sincerest thanks for what you did for Kurisu."

Okabe was taken aback, not expecting what the Professor had said. It seemed like he thought he wasn't being introduced as Kurisu's savior, but as a colleague of some sort.

"I-I don't need thanks," he tried keeping up that boisterous voice. "I wasn't going to allow my Assistant to die in order to escape her obligation to my lab!"

"Seriously, how far are you going to take this?!" Kurisu berated him again.

The effect he had on Kurisu was something that Maho had never seen before. She never spared a second thought to those she thought couldn't keep up with her, but it seemed like the man awakened some sort of petulant child that had lain dormant within her. Maho had also never seen Leskinen laugh quite as hard as he had been at this current moment. The Professor was enjoying everything about this meeting with a seemingly normal, delusional college student.

Just who was this guy?

* * *

"We've done as you asked. So far, he hasn't been too talkative, but hopefully you can make better progress with the Amadeus system than we have made with the actual person."

The person who spoke those words reminded Kyouma very much of the man who was all-business on the Beta Worldline. The man in question was Urushibara Luka. Luka was in charge of overseeing Wakui with a small part of the Tokyo-branch Rounders left behind by Moeka while she searched for Kurisu with the rest. Apparently, it was with these Rounders that Luka saved Okabe, so there seemed to be a sense of closeness with how everyone spoke of them.

According to Daru, Luka was more-than-distraught once news of the Okabes' and Maho's kidnapping broke. He hunted day-and-night for any sort of clue he could come up with, not getting any rest until he could find at least _one_ of them. At least, that was what Daru thought. Luka was hellbent on recovering both of the women in question as well. Once Kurisu's tracker went off, he was the first one there, and he was the one to discover that it had been removed to throw Valkyrie off the Committee's tail. It was only after this incident that Daru had to forcefully order Luka to take a break; there was only so much a human could take, especially one in their 40s.

Luka had traveled back and forth between the United States and Japan, trying to gather any sort of clues concerning the dissapearance of the trio, but the way he carried himself betrayed how tired he was supposed to feel. Despite the heavy bags that could be noticed from a mile away, and despite the fact that he seemed to be taking things slower, Luka carried himself with more poise than anyone Kyouma had ever seen. The man before him was different from the fragile boy that he had befriended all those years ago. Kyouma didn't know what to make of it, but at the very least he could feel satisfied that such a devoted soul was with Valkyrie rather than with the Committee.

Currently, they were at the Neuroscience Institute in Wako City, the most prominent location for Valkyrie to perform their operations after Akihabara had been discovered by the Committee in 2016. Despite all the talk about what happened in that year, no one seemed to have a want to fill Kyouma in on what actually occurred out of seeming fear. The Institute in Wako City was built from the ground up by two genius girls who's reputation preceded them, bringing the most talented minds from many parts of the world together. It first started when Kurisu made many advancements in memory technology while she participated in an exchange program between the Wako City Institute and the Victor Chondria Institute. Later on, it became a hotbed of development when a young, 19-year-old girl by the name of Kunosato Mio was introduced to the team in 2016 and quickly began making advancements of her own in the field of Quantum Brain Science. This competition between two stubborn geniuses attracted the likes of the world's most renowned scientists and, by the time Kurisu returned to America a year after Mio's arrival, the Wako City Institute of Neuroscience was able to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Victor Chondria's Institute of Neuroscience.

Before Kurisu left, though, the incident in the Fall of 2016 had occurred, spurring the need to introduce a new, safer, and more protected base of operations than Akihabara had served under Faris' and Moeka's protection. It was then that the Committee of Antimatter - rebranded to Valkyrie with Okabe joining as a leader on that year - set up shop in the basement, growing as quickly as the Institute did on the surface. However, despite Wako City being Valkyrie's main base of operations, it didn't stop all the other leaders: Sawada, Rimi, Takumi, Sena, Izumi, Okabe, Kurisu, Daru, Faris, and Moeka, from working in other places. Faris and Moeka were the most insane because they chose to remain operating within Akihabara while everyone else either branched out to America or other parts of Japan.

Needless to say, the Wako City Institute was under the guidance of one of its key founders, Kunosato Mio. She greeted Kyouma alongside Luka, but so far has allowed Luka to do most of the talking. To Kyouma, Mio seemed to be carefully studying him as if he were a new specimen brought before her. Her long, black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore a labcoat over a simple striped blouse and dark jeans. She was close to hitting 40-years-old, but she looked like she was barely even breaking into her 20s. The only real evidence to her age was the fact that her voice was pitched a little deeper than that of a usual teenage girl. Then again, Kyouma couldn't assume much considering he had never heard of this woman before he made it to Steins Gate, so perhaps her voice had always been deep.

"We could have handled all of that ourselves," she said in regards to Amadeus. "You should be resting up, Okabe."

"The insane mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma does not sit out of the battle due to mere scrapes, girl," Kyouma retorted. "You've known of my legend for this long and yet you expect me to react just like any weak-minded human?"

Mio sighed. "And here I was hoping to be speaking to someone who was actually more rational. To think that you actually acted like this during World War III makes me fear for the people you associated with during that time."

Mio was well aware of Kyouma's situation with Reading Steiner. In fact, up until this point, she seemed to be one of the only ones that was actually okay with the overwrite because of how much of a pain in the rear Kyouma had been throughout the time they've known each other. However, that opinion she held was slowly shifting thanks to the fact that the man before her had not changed whatsoever.

"...What do you mean by that, Kunosato-san?" Luka stopped and looked at the both of them.

In the brief moment of comfortable familiarity, Mio had totally forgotten that Luka was totally unaware to what happened to Kyouma. As a matter of fact, the only people who actually knew about the overwrite were Maho and the rest of the leaders of Valkyrie.

"That's none of your business unless this dimwit tells you about it," Mio was quick to shift all the attention on Kyouma whilst keeping herself blameless in revealing such a sensitive secret. "Ask _me_ about it again and I'll revoke your clearance from this institute."

In the time that Kurisu took to teach Kyouma all the details about Valkyrie in their downtime, she was also sure to mention just how much of a sharp tongue the young Kunosato Mio had. With such a sharp tongue and an innovative mind, he could see just why Kurisu and herself were such good friends - they practically bounced off each other really well. Luka's stoicism meant that the offense that any normal human would have taken to being so harshly responded to was absent from his face. Kyouma didn't even know if the words registered with Luka just based off how serious his face looked.

Mio, obviously taking note of the look on Luka's face, was about to say something else, however the mad scientist cut her off before she decided to use that sharp tongue again.

"Let us continue on," Kyouma conceded. "I'll tell you my story very briefly because I'm more interested in your own, Lukako."

Luka nodded and allowed Mio to continue guiding the pair further into the more darker recesses of the campus. The Institute was rather large and there was only one way into the basement with multiple different escape routes that could be utilized in case of a raid. The walk to the basement, especially, was going to be a test to see just how well Kyouma's limbs and respiratory system had recovered.

"I have a power called Reading Steiner," Kyouma explained. "I don't know whether or not my past self has explained that to you, but the root of the story lies in just how much of a double-edged sword this power is."

"In 2025 of my worldline, I sent the Okabe Rintaro you knew a D-Mail on how to rescue Kurisu on July 28, 2010 and then sent Suzuha back in time in 2036 to ensure that he received the mail and shift the world onto Steins Gate. With my power, I'm able to remember the events of the worldline I come from at the cost of the memories I had accrued on the current worldline. That is to say, because of how differently events played out between these two divergent worlds, I have no knowledge of what's occurred ever since 2010."

No matter how many times he explained his situation to the people he cared about, he still couldn't help feeling sorry for them. To them, he was nothing more than a stranger with the face of their loved one. Such was the case with Kurisu, Maho, and now Luka. However, despite how Kyouma personally felt about the situation, the look on Luka's face remained as straight as ever.

"I see," he said. "And World War III happened on the worldline you're from?"

The way Luka responded surprised Kyouma. This kind of response was to be expected from the Luka who was an integral part to Valkyrie's forward-scouting groups on the Beta Worldline, and the way the man in front of him shrugged off such a massive change reminded him of the battle-hardened warrior of World War III. It only made Kyouma more interested in figuring out why Luka's personality was the way it was because the lifestyle he was currently living in was not one that Kyouma wanted for the former shrine maiden.

"...Yes," Kyouma said after a moment's silence. "And you were one of our lead soldiers on said worldline."

"So you've forgotten the reason for why you're fighting the Committee in the first place?"

Luka caught Kyouma by surprise once again by jumping into another almost-accusatory question. It was in this question that Luka let out some semblance of emotion.

"Urushibara, that's enough," Mio cut in before Kyouma could get any more info out of the man. "Hashida already told you not to speak of that incident well before this version of Okabe took over."

"Don't worry, Kunosato-san," Luka said, recovering his former stoicism. "It's good that he doesn't remember. As long as he still fights with the vigor of the Kyouma-san before him, I will hold no complaints."

Kyouma could only guess that they were talking about what had occurred in 2016. It was quite the eventful year given the summary he got from his Assistant and his Favorite Right Arm. Of course, it was the year that he himself had joined the fight, six years after the initial formation of the Commitee of Antimatter. Apparently, he had been quite adamant on not joining the group until that turning point in 2016. The letter didn't do much to point out what had happened, but it must have been quite traumatizing for himself considering there was such a strict gag order in regards to what happened. He didn't know whether his past self had intentionally left out what had happened, or suconsciously blocked out the event from his mind when writing the letter.

"You can question my vigor once my Assistant is back in my arms," Kyouma finally said. "For now, I'm willing to crucify all members of the 300 on flaming crosses if it means rescuing Christina."

"Now that's a first," Mio commented on Kyouma's ferocity. "You know what? I think I might take a liking to you after all."

"War does ugly things to one's mindset, Kunosato-san," Luka said. "That statement isn't something to applaud Kyouma-san for."

Once again, the enigma that was Steins Gate's Urushibara Luka was on full display for Kyouma to see. He spoke as if he had experience in war despite the fact that Valkyrie was almost-always covert in their operations. His apprehension to Kyouma's statement didn't surprise Kyouma, but the reasoning was not what he had expected at all.

At that moment, they had finally approached the secret entrance to the Institute's basement, but there was a lot more walking to be done just to reach the room Wakui was located in. Even with its location underground, the basement level was much more sophisticated than the surface campus thanks to Faris' contributions.

"I've told you my story," Kyouma said. "Now I'd really like to hear yours, Lukako."

Luka took a deep breath.

"To be honest, it's not quite as simple as yours, and considering the orders we have in place, it'll be tough getting you to understand without knowledge of _that_ day."

"Try me," Kyouma said.

"Very well."

As they walked, Luka began recounting his story, going as far back as 2016. It was this mystery event that also got Luka motivated to fight the Committee, but he didn't have the means to immediately do so like Okabe had. He enlisted in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces a couple months following that day and trained his body vigorously to be able to be of use to the Anti-Committee in some way. Through his efforts, the SDF immediately recognized him as their best enlistee and sent him to train with the Americans in Okinawa for two more years. It was there that the Americans negotiated with the Japanese government to naturalize Luka as a U.S citizen, and use his skills in the Navy Seals as America was ramping up operations in the Middle East once 2020 rolled around.

Essentially, from 2016-2026, Luka had traveled from Tokyo, to Okinawa, to America, and to the Middle East, being a part of the SEAL teams that were involved in uprooting the budding government powers althroughout the region and helping install American puppets. He wasn't proud of what he was doing, but it was all an effort to make himself useful to Valkyrie in the end. The experience he accrued was both negative and positive, though. He is no longer able to sleep soundly through the night, always waking up to constant night terrors brought on by the battles he fought. However, thanks to the brief descriptions of these night terrors, Kyouma was able to deduce that some of them were faint memories of the time he spent as a fighter in the Beta Worldline, but he didn't bother interrupting the story. Luka also had permanent tinnitus thanks to an explosion that he had the misfortune of being a couple feet away from. This meant that he had to constantly have something to listen to or else the ringing in his ears would drive him insane. To prove his point, he brushed his hair away from his ear to reveal some wireless earbuds that were probably playing music to distract him from the ringing.

After serving a mandatory tour of duty from 2023-2026 - beginning the day after Okabe and Kurisu got married - Luka was finally able to leave the army he had grown to dislike. His quest to become stronger ultimately hurt him, but he claimed that he would do it again given the opportunity. Taking note of his accomplishments, Okabe had invited Luka into the fold of Valkyrie, joining Moeka, Nae, Sena, and Rimi as the Anti-Committee's most capable fighters. Despite how humble he was being about it, Luka's analytical mindset that he picked up with the Americans had played a critical role in the Valhalla Operation - the operation that toppled SERN's puppetmasters within the Committee and converting the organization and its shadow-group - the Rounders - into a tool for Valkyrie to utilize.

According to Mio, who had spoken up about the particulars of the plan, Luka was responsible for identifying the priority targets within SERN and where they would be. Just like he had done with the Okabes, he spent long nights cross-referencing everything he could with the people connected to the organization until he was able to narrow down the suspected Committee members to two sole people. Aside from the snarky comments in regards to how unhealthily obsessive the man could get, Mio conceded that Luka was one of Valkyrie's best, and wouldn't know where the organization would be without his contributions. It was because of him that Valkyrie finally had enough firepower to stand up to the Committee directly rather than rely on luck and ability as they had been before Operation Valhalla. Mio also made sure to mention that there was always a plan to try and go after SERN ever since Okabe joined the fray in 2016, but it wasn't until Luka was recruited that Okabe's dream of converting the organization became a reality.

Ever since that major operation, Valkyrie had been coasting, spending ten years easily foiling Committee plots around the globe thanks to their acquisition of the Rounders. Luka wished to atone for the actions he committed under the command of the American Navy, so, with the help of Mayuri, he embarked on humanitarian efforts throughout Third World countries suffering from the aftermath of war in 2034. It was enough to distract him for two years, spending a lot of his days with Mayuri in these countries until they reset for a couple weeks before embarking on another quest. It would have lasted longer, but, all of a sudden, a lot of activity sprang up over the course of the past couple months. It was as if the Committee was waiting for Okabe to be replaced by Kyouma before they began operating again to take him by surprise. Of course, because Kyouma had led people prior to changing worldlines, he and Daru had no problem battling these issues as they came, but it wasn't long until they were finally overwhelmed. Now, they had to play catch-up and rescue Kurisu before anything happened to her. Kyouma neglected to mention that she had a baby on the way, not wanting to add any more haste and risk coming up with a plan that could endanger more lives than it'd save. He thought back to the letter again, remembering the emphasis put into Okabe's words when he wrote that there was no retry with time travel.

Needless to say, Kyouma was impressed with Luka's willingness to fight as hard as he had been. Had he not been through war and seen Luka as the fighter he was on Beta, Steins Gate's Luka would have totally taken him aback. However, he could not shake the melancholy he felt for not being able to bring about a _perfect_ world so that no one would have to deal with the problems that plagued them today. Despite this feeling, he had to agree that this world was a million times better than the hellish Beta Worldline and the dystopia of the Alpha Worldline.

The trio finally reached the true entrance to the hideout after ten minutes of enduring the twisting-and-turning labyrinthian maze that was the basement beneath the Wako City Institute. Okabe was more-than-cautious to make sure they were well-hidden, and it reminded Kyouma of the maze he constructed out of the subway station beneath Akihabara in the Beta Worldline. Mio flashed her ID card at the steel door in front of them, eliciting a beep in response before it slid open to allow the group to enter. While the basement was already well-lit, the actual hideout itself was very bright on the inside. The fact that there was more life within the hideout, as dozens of others were mulling about either working on their pokecoms or chatting up a storm, probably added to the brightness of the room. They were very different from the intellectuals that walked around the campus on the surface; they seemed much more lax and more confident in the work they produced. This was a side-effect of how scary Mio was as the Institute's director. It was a constant bout of one-upmanship, making the environment tense due to each and every member of the Institute were trying to get on the Director's good graces, which was already difficult in its own right. However, underground, Mio didn't have quite the same effect because the members of Valkyrie answered to Okabe before they answered to her.

As soon as Kyouma entered the room, everyone stopped what they were doing, surprised to see their leader walking around after what had happened. Men and women alike didn't know what to say or do, but Kyouma wasn't interested in being entertained as leader.

"Do as you were," he said. "I'm just visiting."

The people in the room with him nodded and resumed their work with a little extra edge to them. Kyouma didn't know what kind of reputation Okabe had, but the only observation he could make of their work was that they were _inspired_ rather than scared into doing their jobs. It was as if his presence brought the room's morale through the roof.

"You're a living legend," Mio said, taking note of his observations. "As much as I hate to say it, you're a natural-born leader, and these men and women would be willing to lay down their lives for you if they had to because of what you've done for them."

"I take it they're the offspring of SERN's Rounders?" Kyouma remarked how young they seemed.

"Yes," Luka spoke up. "You saved their parents from their indentured servitude under SERN. This is the second generation of Rounders following our takeover of SERN in 2026."

"Last I remember, _you_ were the one who changed the path of their destiny, were you not, Lukako?"

"I may have helped loosen the Committee's grasp, but your treatment of the Rounders and your mercy were blessings beyond words for them, so this is how they wished to repay you."

"I see."

Kyouma nodded, finding Luka's explanation agreeable. He wasn't surprised that Okabe was so charismatic as to have the children of contract mercenaries swear their loyalty to Valkyrie's cause.

"Let's continue onward," Kyouma said. "The hands of time are counting down. My Assistant's fate lies in what we can get out of the Committee's puppet."

Mio sighed at Kyouma's words, but she agreed with them nonetheless. She pushed the group further down the main hall, into the room they hastily set up to house the Gigalomaniac.

The room was dim compared to the main hall they were just in. There were two people overseeing it, a woman with dark hair and a labcoat who had a popsicle stick hanging out of her mouth, and a woman in a casual blouse with pink hair - the same woman that greeted Kyouma in the hospital when he first regained consciousness. Seated in front of them, was a battered Wakui with a helmet sitting atop his head. He watched as the trio entered the room and smiled at the sight of Kyouma, a reaction that Kyouma didn't expect in the slightest. The two women turned to follow Wakui's gaze and couldn't help eliciting their own form of surprise when their eyes landed on Kyouma.

"Okarin-san!" the woman in pink hair said. "I didn't think we'd see you here!"

Kyouma noted her use of his nickname. She was either really close to Okabe or she was one of those cutesy types that enjoyed using those kinds of nicknames like Mayuri.

"Why aren't you resting in the hospital, Okabe?" the woman in dark hair asked.

Kyouma was about to speak, but Mio cut him off.

"I asked him the same thing, Sena," she said. "Simply put - without his delusional ramblings - he wanted to visit Wakui."

Kyouma made sure to recall their names as they were said. He may have known the names of Valkyrie's more important members, but he could never put a face to them. Now that he saw Aoi Sena for himself, all he could think about was how well her looks matched what he had been told about her. Initially, she was against the Anti-Committee's transformation into Valkyrie, mostly because Okabe was not scared about trying out the more risky sciences like Gigalomania. His desire to delve into that research without consulting her led to a confrontation between him, her, Kurisu, and Mio that eventually led to Sena to allow for it to continue under the condition that she lead the research. Having devoted her life to it ever since her discovery of her father's work with it, she was more proactive than most in safely and efficiently making progress on scientifically defining why Gigalomania occurs and how it manifests.

"I'm surprised you let him steamroll past you regardless, Mio-chan," the pink-haired woman said. "What made you budge?"

"To be honest," she said. "I wanted to have a good look at what this Okabe was like, but it seems like my curiosity got the best of me."

They both tensed up once they heard her revelation that Kyouma was different from Okabe. However, she calmed them down when she explained that Luka was already filled in on the situation.

"He's still the same delusional maniac," she said. "Albeit one that seems to be more inclined to violence than the other one."

As their conversation was ongoing, Kyouma eyed Wakui with a mixture of contempt and pity. A man with such power had misused it and was now suffering the consequences of crossing the path of the mad scientist. The man, however, exchanged a gleeful smile rather than showing any anger toward his captor. The smile made Kyouma suspicious, but it was probably one of, "Try as you might, you will not break me."

"Were you able to get any info out of him at all, Sakihata?" Mio asked. "Going the Amadeus route is a lot more work for a lot more information, so I was hoping transferring his memories there would have made him want to start talking."

Sakihata Rimi. One of the other vital leaders within Valkyrie, and the only other Gigalomaniac with such an active role besides Aoi Sena. There had been other Gigalomaniacs that had engaged in bouts against the Committee and their subgroups such as Nishijou Takumi, who lost his powers after destroying Noah II in 2009, and Miyashiro Takuru, who was imprisoned after taking responsibility for the Return of the New Generation Madness in 2015. Because of their current state, though, and the unpredictability of the other Gigalomaniacs who opposed the Committee, Rimi and Sena were the only ones Okabe could count on.

Rimi's accomplishments and reputation, unlike Sena, did not seem to match the bubbly energy that the actual person seemed to exude. Both Luka and Mio stressed how vital she was as the woman on the frontlines doing the actual work when Operation Valhalla went underway, so Kyouma could only guess that she got serious when the situation called for it.

"Sadly, no," Rimi said. "He's more stubborn than Taku and Sawada-san combined."

"I wanted to save myself for Okabe-kun," Wakui spoke up from the back, cutting off all lighthearted conversation. "Consider it my apology for what I did."

The women were about to speak, but this time Kyouma beat them to the punch.

"You're quite cheery for a man who's path from here will only lead to an untimely death," he said.

The statement caught the two women and their subject by surprise. Having heard of his more violent tendencies, both Luka and Mio were not fazed. Luka was still concerned and shifted a little bit closer to Kyouma.

Wakui's bruised face lit up, betraying the reaction Kyouma expected out of him. His initial read of the Committee's puppet was that he was an opportunistic coward who was afraid of the concept of pain or mortality. Despite Kyouma's threat of killing him, he seemed undeterred. It was as if he was already planning on dying. Kyouma masked his surprise by trying to call out his bluff.

"Lukako, give me your knife," Kyouma said. "We have no need for him."

Luka was hesitant on handing his pocket knife to Kyouma, however he conceded once he realized that Kyouma was only trying to call Wakui's bluff. At least, Kyouma hoped he realized it when he flashed the "ok" sign behind his back as he stuck his hand out for the knife. It was a black switchblade, something simple and easy to use just in case anything ever happened.

"Oh, what's this?" Wakui kept strong. "You're actually approaching me? Despite the damage I've undoubtedly done to your body, you're still willing to get close to me?"

"I can't carve you without getting closer," Kyouma continued his own bluff with the knife now in hand.

"Oh, ho," Wakui giggled. "Then come as close as you'd like."

There was no stopping at this point. Kyouma didn't know whether Okabe was mentally capable of getting his hands dirty, but having come from World War III, Kyouma was not averse to spilling blood. That was his thought process before everything slowed down.

As he got within a couple inches of Wakui and began raising the knife to stab it into his leg, Wakui's smile broke into him opening his mouth wide and chomping down as hard as he could. It was in this one moment that everyone, including Kyouma began scrambling. He had seen this kind of thing in manga and anime, but never before did he think someone was actually crazy enough to attempt such a suicidal plot. Given his proximity to Wakui, there was no way Kyouma was going to get out of the way without suffering possibly-fatal injuries.

However, there was one person who was right behind him and was probably more insane than the insane mad scientist. As soon as Wakui's smile broke, Kyouma felt a huge weight bear down on him as he was forcefully shifted to face away from the ticking time bomb. This one instant was necessary to ensure his survival, but it would come at the cost of the person who was acting as the shield between Kyouma and Wakui.

It only took a moment. Just one single moment turned a dimly-lit interrogation room into a smoldering mess of glass, metal, and wires. Aside from that, the explosion was louder than anything Kyouma had ever heard.

Kyouma was knocked forward, rolling with the momentum of the blast, feeling as his body was cut by the glass that littered the floor. The fact that he was conscious enough to experience all the pain that coursed through his body was all thanks to whoever took the brunt of the blast for him. Due to Wakui's torture, however, his nerves were practically numbed out, meaning that this was not the worst pain he had experienced. The weight behind him had disappeared as the person who saved Kyouma was launched farther than him across the room.

When it was all said and done, there was nothing left of Wakui. No blood, no guts, just a charred floor where he had previously been. The remaining emergency lights in the room were flashing and the PA system was blaring. The door to the main hall burst open as those who were sitting outside undoubtedly heard the explosion and were rushing to check on the status of a very important core-group of Valkyrie's leaders.

Kyouma put his hands to the floor and shakily pushed himself to his feet, wasting no time attempting to analyze the aftermath of Wakui's suicidebombing. His labcoat was in tatters, and there were cuts all over his body, but none of them felt life-threatening. He looked around him as the room was flooded with Luka's Rounders, guns drawn and barking orders at each other. He saw as Mio, Sena, and Rimi were being helped to their feet, mostly unharmed save for burns on their skin and cuts from the glass of the lights that shattered in the blast.

"How the hell did we not catch that bomb?!" Mio could be heard cursing at anyone who'd listen to her.

That only left one person who was unaccounted for.

Kyouma's search brought his gaze to a couple feet in front of him. Lying in a heap with severe burns across his entire body, and gashes in his arms and legs from the tumble he took was none other than the man who protected Kyouma from the blast in the first place. Kyouma clambered over to him as best he could, dragging some Rounders along with him to check on Luka.

"Someone tell Apollo to come back to the Institute!" Kyouma began barking orders at those who were left standing around. "We need a medical team, quick!"

Kyouma fell to his knees next to Luka, rolling him over with whatever strength he had left in him. Luka's face was a bloodied mess and his hair was singed off from the blast. The one thing that eased Kyouma's anxiety was that he could still feel Luka's strained breathing. As he held Luka in his arms, worried for the boy whose fate should not have turned out like this, Luka's eyes fluttered open.

"Kyouma...san..." Luka smiled. "I'm glad... you're okay..."

Luka coughed, making blood come out of his mouth as he did so. This action prompted Kyouma to try to get Luka to sit still and wait for the medical team to come and help him. In Luka's current state, Kyouma didn't know how much longer he had. He could barely keep his eyes open, his breathing was becoming increasingly ragged, and blood poured out of his wounds as he coughed, covering his face with more of it. Had Luka not been there to block the explosion, Kyouma would have easily been killed.

"Lukako, please," Kyouma said. "Don't force yourself."

"I... wasn't strong enough to protect her... back then..." Luka continued on despite Kyouma's pleading. "I'm happy... that I got to protect you..."

With those words, Luka's eyes slowly closed, smiling as they did. He only took a couple more breaths before his chest stopped moving.

"Lukako!"

Okabe Rintaro, a man who had struggled as much as he could to build a worldline free of suffering and despair, was now feeling how he felt an eternity ago when Urushibara Luka died in his arms on the Beta Worldline. He may have witnessed death in wartime, but it could never match the feeling of someone as close as family dying in a time where peace should have prevailed.

"Lukako!" Okabe yelled as loud as he could, clutching Luka tightly to his chest.

The man didn't move. It was clear that at this point, there was nothing that could have been done to save him.

"This is Steins Gate!" Okabe yelled at no one in particular. "This is supposed to be a worldline without war - without dystopia! This was supposed to be a worldline where you all could have lived without worry!"

Tears worked their way out of his eyes as he spoke.

"It was never supposed to be like this! I suffered so that you shouldn't have to!"

Okabe's mind was flooded with memories of the time he had spent with Luka in the past. He was brought back to the time when teaching the shrine maiden how to wield Samidare were the most stressful things for the boy. He remembered the time he spent in Alpha, helping him come to terms with who he was, and how nothing was going to change how he saw Luka. All the parties they attended with Mayuri, his resilence despite the horror of World War III bearing down upon them, the time he sacrificed himself to allow Faris and the rest of Beta's Valkyrie to escape after Okabe had woken up - everything that had to do with Luka was taking over his mind.

He wished that this was just a result of some twisted dream he was having in the hospital. He hoped against all hope that something - _anything_ \- would wake him up and allow him to escape facing this situation. He remembered the letter that his previous self had written. The words " _there is no reset button"_ flashed in his mind as he looked down at Luka's bloody face. No matter how much he wished for a different outcome, reality remained the same. _This_ was his reality. Steins Gate would only be a peaceful worldline as long as he was proactive in protecting it, and he had let his guard down. The reason why any of this is happening was because he shirked his duties in favor of spending time with Kurisu. The Committee may have done the damage, but he blamed himself for allowing it to happen.

The blood from Luka's deep wounds had pooled around them, but Okabe didn't care.

"The Committee will pay!" Okabe felt the flame of the Phoenix re-engulf him. "I swear it! If this is the choice of Steins Gate, then I will force its hand once more!"

All Kyouma could do was wait for Izumi and his team. There was no one to comfort, no one to help. He held on to Luka, believing that the man would crumble into nothingness if he let go.

All Hououin Kyouma could do was let out a roar of regret at the loss of one of his lab members.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all, sorry for the wait on this one. I hit a real speedbump due to some personal issues as well as university, so this couldn't come out quite as fast as I wanted it to. Regardless, this is my _second_ longest chapter in the story, so I hope that's able to somewhat make up for the wait. Also, I wasn't lying when I said things would only pick up from here. It's my goal to end this story by July at the latest, so we'll see how well I'm able to keep myself to that deadline. As I said before, we are rapidly approaching the end, and there's still some twists and turns to get through before we get to enjoy the climax. Anyway, thanks again for reading! **

**~Quil**


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